Azimuthal surface gliding of a nematic liquid crystal

In-plane surface gliding of a thermotropic nematic liquid crystal is investigated at substrates with weak azimuthal anchoring energy under different external electric fields parallel to the substrates. The anchoring is a result of photoinduced anisotropy in a poly-(vinyl)-alcohol alignment layer with embedded azodye molecules. The experimentally measured time constant, which describes the gliding, is inversely proportional to the electric field strength. The surface viscosity value of the liquid crystal director at the substrates extracted from the presented model is estimated as gamma(s) greater than or equal to 0.33 Js/m(2). (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.