Antiferroelectric gels

We have investigated the electro-optic properties of a gel consisting of an antiferroelectric liquid crystalline (AFLC) mixture and an anisotropic pol ymer network, formed by photopolymerization of a mesogenic monomer. Like th e pure AFLC mixture, the gel exhibits the well-known tristable electro-opti cal switching but with a decreased slope of the electro-optic response curv e, thus making gray-scales available. In addition, the spontaneous polariza tion and the switching angle are reduced by the polymer network, whereas th e switching limes are independent of the polymer concentration. Applying a simple model, we found that the polymer network primarily changes the ancho ring conditions of the liquid crystal.