Frequency response of dielectric relaxation modes in a room temperature antiferroelectric phase liquid crystalline mixture

Thermodynamic, optical, and electrical characterization of a newly formulated mixture of chiral mesogenic molecules has been carried out. The material exhibits different mesophases like paraelectric smectic (SmA*), ferroelectric chiral smectic (SmC*) with synclinic structure, and wide temperature range antiferroelectric chiral smectic (SmCa*) with anticlinic structure. These studies show that at room temperature, the SmCa* phase is present in a wide temperature range of similar to 128 degrees C (from -35.0 degrees C to 92.6 degrees C) followed by the SmC* phase (from 92.6 degrees C to 110.8 degrees C) as well as SmA* phase (from 110.8 degrees C to 113.9 degrees C). Besides the wide temperature range, the SmCa* phase has also been optimized for high helical pitch length, which is useful for helix unwound cells through surface stabilization for application. Frequency-dependent dielectric parameters have been determined for the material in the frequency range of 1 Hz to 40 MHz. The dielectric spectroscopy shows six different relaxation modes in various phases due to the collective and individual molecular behavior. The SmA* phase exhibits soft mode relaxation associated with variations in the amplitude of the tilt angle. The identified soft mode is significantly temperature-dependent. Using the Curie-Weiss law, the transition temperature for the paraelectric SmA* phase to the ferroelectric SmC* phase (T-c) is found to be 111.4 degrees C. Two relaxation modes in the SmC* phase have been identified Goldstone mode and a domain mode. These modes have extremely high dielectric strength resulting in high permittivity in comparison with other modes. Three modes of relaxation have been detected in the antiferroelectric SmCa* phase. Different characteristic parameters of these modes are strongly temperature-dependent. This study signifies that the present room-temperature antiferroelectric liquid crystals may be a potential candidate for display applications.