Hybrid surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals having an intervening interfacial layer with a graded transition temperature

A hybrid surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) having an intervening interfacial layer with a graded transition temperature is determined to be successful for preventing the structural transformation from C1 to C2 chevrons during the cooling process. As a result, a zigzag defect-free SSFLC medium with C1 structure can be obtained. A hybrid SSFLC fabricated by deliberately lowering the SmA-SmC* phase transition temperature (TAC) in, the surface region takes C1-uniform, structure, and on the other hand, a hybrid SSFLC having a surface layer with TAC higher than the bulk region prefers twisted orientation to uniform. The C1-twist structure of the layer hybrid SSFLC is caused by the suppression of C1-C2 structural transformation in the surface region due to the bulk region with lower TAC and the easy formation of electrical coupling between the FLC dipole and the substance surface because the bulk region still takes the SmA phase just after the SmA-SmC* transition of the surface region.