INVESTIGATION AND CONTROL OF DOMAIN FORMATION IN FERROELECTRIC LIQUID-CRYSTAL DEVICES

This paper explores the causes of domain nucleation and investigates m ethods to control the location and threshold of defect sites. By obser ving the reappearance of 'invisible' defect sites after full annealing it was determined that intrinsic surface features ale able to seed nu cleation. Intentional modification of the surface topology was investi gated and found to have a dramatic influence on domain nucleation and growth. Some applications that might benefit from this direct control over domain nucleation are discussed.