Electrical driving of the surface memorization in dimerized nematics with short range smectic order

Electrical control of the surface memorization of an oriented smectic C tex ture in the temperature range of dimerized nematics with short range smecti c C order (4-n-alkyloxybenzoic acids) is presented. It is demonstrated that by suitable choice of the electric field parameters and surface conditions it is possible to separate the thermal and electrical components of the to tal erasure activation energy. The significant role of the double charge el ectric layer in the mechanism of the surface memorization is verified. By t he electrical control of the memorization, we have confirmed the electrical part of the modified Rapini-Papoular anchoring energy in the effective sur face energy.