Nematic Polar Anchoring Strength Measured by Electric Field Techniques

We analyze the high-electric-field technique designed by Yokoyama and van Sprang [J. Appl. Phys. 57, 4520 (1985)] to determine the polar anchoring coefficient W of a nematic liquid crystal-solid substrate. The technique implies simultaneous measurement of the optical phase retardation and capacitance as functions of the applied voltage well above the threshold of the Frederiks transition. We develop a generalized model that allows for the determination of W for tilted director orientation. Furthermore, the model results in a new high-field technique, (referred to as the RV technique), based on the measurement of retardation versus applied voltage. W is determined from a simple linear fit over a well-specified voltage window. No capacitance measurements are needed to determine W when the dielectric constants of the liquid crystal are known. We analyze the validity of the Yokoyama–van Sprang (YvS) and RV techniques and show that experimental data in real cells often do not follow the theoretical curves. The...