Switching behaviors of ferroelectric liquid crystal cells with a polyimide alignment layer

The spontaneous polarizations, response and decay times, and light transmittances of ferroelectric liquid crystal cells were observed. When a field was applied, the spontaneous polarization of ferroelectric liquid crystal by a rubbing method was higher than that was by a LB technique. In the cases of response and decay times, the FLC cell treated by the rubbing method at once was faster than that by the LB method. Especially, the response time of a ferroelectric liquid crystal cell of having an alignment layer treated by the LB 1 layer after rubbing, was similar to that by rubbing, but decay time fell in between the cells of a rubbed surface and of a LB film. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.