Xing Hongyu

Determining the sum of flexoelectric coefficients in nematic liquid crystals by the capacitance method

A detailed theoretical analysis of determining the sum of flexoelectric coefficients in nematic liquid crystals using the capacitance method is given. In the strong anchoring parallel aligned nematic (PAN) and hybrid aligned nematic (HAN) cells, the dependences of the capacitance on the sum of flexoelectric coefficients and the applied voltage are obtained by numerical simulations, and the distributions of the director and the electric potential for different applied voltages and flexoelectric coefficients are also given. Based on this theoretical analysis, we propose an experimental design for measuring the capacitance of a liquid crystal cell using the improved precision LCR meter E4980A (Agilent). Through comparing the experimental data with the simulated results, the sum of flexoeletric coefficients can be determined.

Influences of surface and flexoelectric polarization on the effective anchoring energy in nematic liquid crystal

The physical effects on surface and flexoelectric polarization in a weak anchoring nematic liquid crystal cell are investigated systematically. We derive the analytic expressions of two effective anchoring energies for lower and upper substrates respectively as well as their effective anchoring strengths and corresponding tilt angles of effective easy direction. All of these quantities are relevant to the magnitudes of both two polarizations and the applied voltage U. Based on these expressions, the variations of effective anchoring strength and the tilt angle with the applied voltage are calculated for the fixed values of two polarizations. For an original weak anchoring hybrid aligned nematic cell, it may be equivalent to a planar cell for a small value of U and has a threshold voltage. The variation of reduced threshold voltage with reduced surface polarization strength is also calculated. The role of surface polarization is important without the adsorptive ions considered.

Threshold property of a nematic liquid crystal cell with two grating surface substrates

A grating surface can drive the liquid crystal molecules to orientate along the direction parallel or vertical to the projected plane of the grating surface. The nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cell manufactured with two pre-treated grating surface substrates may realize the vertical display, parallel display and twist display. In this paper, the threshold property of this NLC cell is investigated systematically. With the Frank elastic theory and the equivalent anchoring energy formula of grating surface substrate, the analytic expressions of the threshold voltage related to three displays are obtained, which are dependent on their geometrical parameters such as amplitude δ and pitch λ of the grating surface substrate. For a certain anchoring strength, the threshold voltage increases or decreases with the increase of the value δ/λ of the different displays.

Equivalent anchoring energy formula of a NLC on a grating surface and VCT effect

The voltage‐controlled twist (VCT) effect shows that a grating surface, with its particular anchoring properties, has the potential to become a new surface anchoring for liquid crystal devices. In order to describe these properties an equivalent anchoring energy is introduced. The alignment of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) on such a grating originates from two mechanisms, so each produces a term in the equivalent anchoring energy. One is the interaction potential between NLC molecules and the molecules on the substrate surface, from which we derive the expression of the corresponding term. The other is the increased elastic strain energy, for which we adopt the result of Berreman. The equivalent anchoring energy obtained is a function of pitch λ and amplitude δ of the grating surface. Both the corresponding strength parameter and the easy direction are functions of λ and δ. The hybrid aligned nematic cell proposed by. Bryan‐Brown et al. is studied by the use of our formula, and the distribution of the director, the saturation state and the saturation voltage are calculated in detail. The results are consistent with experimental data, especially the values of λ and δ. The VCT effect can therefore be explained.

Anchoring properties of substrate with a grating surface

The anchoring properties of substrate with a grating surface are investigated analytically. The alignment of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) in a grating surface originates from two mechanisms, thus the anchoring energy consists of two parts. One originates from the interaction potential between NLC molecules and the molecules on the substrate surface, and the other stems from the increased elastic strain energy. Based on the two mechanisms, the expression of anchoring energy per unit area of a projected plane of this grating surface is deduced and called the equivalent anchoring energy formula. Both the strength and the easy direction of equivalent anchoring energy are a function of the geometrical parameters (amplitude and pitch) of a grating surface. By using this formula, the grating surface can be replaced by its projected plane and its anchoring properties can be described by the equivalent anchoring energy formula.