Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2002 May;65(5):051710. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.65.051710. Epub 2002 May 23.

Flexoelectric switching in a bistable nematic device.

Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics

A J Davidson, N J Mottram

PMID: 12059580 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.65.051710

Abstract

We present a continuum theory model of switching in a bistable nematic liquid crystal device. The bistability of the device investigated relies on the fact that one of the cell surfaces exhibits two stable anchoring states, that is, two surface director orientations are locally stable. Since the other surface exhibits monostable, homeotropic anchoring there are two possible ground state director orientations within the cell, depending on the director orientation at the bistable surface. We first investigate the stability of these base states and find a critical surface anchoring strength below which only one of the states is stable. We also investigate the process of switching between the two stable states through the application of an electric field and the presence of a flexoelectric polarization. At high field strengths the dielectric interaction with the applied field will dominate the flexoelectric effect and may hinder switching. We find, therefore, that a window of possible field strengths exists within which switching occurs.

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• Journal Article