Enhancement of the Direct Symmetric Splay to Bend Transition in Liquid Crystal Cell

概要

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It has been known that for liquid crystal devices, such as a $\pi$-cell, with pretilt angles of opposite rotation senses on their two surfaces, the transition from the splay state to the bend state can be accelerated by applying a periodic voltage. The basic explanation for this was previously clarified and shown to be related to the lack of stability of the symmetric splay state relative to the lower energy asymmetric splay state. We have observed the surprising fact that applying a higher voltage to the device increases the stability of the symmetric splay state relative to the asymmetric splay state. We have also observed that the inclusion of nanoparticles in the device can further decrease the transition time from the splay state to the bend state. We provide data and explanations for these observed effects, and demonstrate how our understanding leads to the faster "warm-up" of $\pi$-cell devices.
2009-02-25