Polymer-stabilized antiferroelectric liquid crystals

In smectic liquid crystals (SmLCs) with no nematic phase in the phase sequence, such as antiferroelectric SmLCs and SmLCs with V-shaped electrooptical switching, it is hard to obtain LC cells with a uniform molecular alignment structure. The direct transition from the isotropic phase to the Sm phase during cooling gives rise to a nonuniform Sin layer structure due to the dispersion of the layer normal. We propose a method of fabricating defect-free SmLC cells with a uniform Sm layer structure using polymer stabilization or the phase separation of the SmLC and the polymer.