Photoelectrical properties of a ferroelectric liquid crystalline photoconductor

An organic ferroelectric photoconductor, 2-[(S)-4-(6-methylheptyloxy)phenyl ]-6-decylnaphthalene, was prepared and its photoconductive and ferroelectri c behaviors were characterized by steady-state and transient electrical mea surements. This material exhibited fast carrier transport with an ambipolar mobility of 2.6 x 10(-4) cm(2)/V s, independent of temperature and electri c field. Under a polarized microscope, a fast switching with memory effect was observed visually and the spontaneous polarization was evaluated to be 0.6 nC/cm(2) in chiral smectic C phase. (C) 1999 American Institute of Phys ics. [S0003-6951(99)03347-1].