Four states of surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal with parallel rubbing

The orientational states of surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals with parallel rubbing were investigated by changing the pretilt angle of the aligning film. Four states, C1-uniform (C1U), C1-twisted (C1T), C2-uniform (C2U), and C2-twisted (C2T) states, were observed. The C1U and C2U states showed extinction positions, whereas the C1T and C2T states did not. The memory angle of the C1U state was larger than that of the C2U state for the respective cells. The molecular orientational model of these states is discussed with regard to the experimental results.