THRESHOLD PROPERTIES OF SSFLC IN TERMS OF POLARIZATION STRUCTURES

Bistability of the surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SS FLC) is one of the most important factors of display performances. The electrooptical switching is based on the bistability which provides t hreshold characteristics to the SSFLC display device. The threshold pr operties of the SSFLC device which has a layer structure of liquid cry stal molecules and provides an in-plane molecular switching are assume d to be governed by not only a sur face anchoring but also a bulk stru cture itself. We show some experimental results which suggest a contri bution of ferroelectric liquid crystal's bulk structure to the electro optical threshold properties. Layer structures: the bookshelf and the chevron geometries are one of the main bulk factors. Our experimental results clarified that the polarization switching behavior was intrins ically different between the bookshelf and the chevron structures. The bookshelf geometry also shows a possibility of gray shades.