Synthesis and Evaluation of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals

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The long range scientific goals of this research are to increase understanding of the correlation of molecular structure with physical properties of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) phases, and to test strategies for design of new materials. The practical goal is the invention of new FLC materials with properties suited for incorporation into commercial FLC shutters and large-area matrix displays. Ferroelectric (chiral) smectic C liquid crystals have been shown to exhibit high speed, multistate electro-optic and display device applications, particularly when incorporated into the surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) light valve. The best materials for use in such devices would have a high ferroelectric polarization and low orientational viscosity, affording a fast electro-optic response time, broad temperature range, and excellent chemical stability. No materials currently available, however, possess the required speed, temperature range and stability to allow fabrication of large area multiplexed arrays operating at video rates with gray scale. The proposal outlines a plan of work directed toward the preparation of new materials satisfying this need. The new materials will be both pure FLC components designed for high polarization, low viscosity, and chemical stability, and also mixtures of materials containing the new components with broad temperature ranges and fast electro-optic response times.//