title: Polarity-directed analog electro-optic switching in a low-polarization chiral smectic liquid crystal with positive dielectric anisotropy.
abstract: We describe an analog electro-optic (EO) switching mechanism occurring in thin cells filled with a low-polarization ferroelectric liquid crystal mixture with positive dielectric anisotropy. The mixture is composed of an achiral nonpolar smectic-C (Sm-C) host doped with a small amount of a commercially available unichiral compound. The switching mechanism provides analog EO behavior, and thus could be attractive for information display applications. The process is polarization-driven for weak fields, while for higher field strength the dielectric coupling dominates the process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA. jan.lagerwall@ipc.uni-stuttgart.de
authors.forename: Jan P F
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lagerwall
authors.forename: Alexander A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.forename: Noel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Walba