title: Flexoelectric polarization in hybrid nematic films.
abstract: Hybrid films of the nematic liquid crystal penthylcyanobiphenyl (5CB) on the surface of glycerol were studied in the presence of an in-plane electric field. In this geometry there is a macroscopic flexoelectric polarization P(f) with a component in the film plane that couples linearly to the field. Here we report the electric field and film thickness dependence of the width of the 2pi reorientations (2pi walls) in the c director that are trapped by the field and interpret these observations based on continuum elastic theory. We find the difference between the flexoelectric coefficients to be e(1)-e(3)=+11 pC/m.
authors.affiliation: Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials, Tokyo Institute of Technology, O-okayama 2-12-1, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan.
authors.forename: Darren R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Link
authors.forename: Michi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Yoichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takanishi
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takezoe