In-plane bistable nematic liquid crystal devices based on nanoimprinted surface relief

The authors present a bistable nematic device, using a fourfold symmetrical bidirection nanometer-scale surface grating fabricated by the nanoimprinting lithography. The bistability is achieved by a composite action between two orthogonal surface undulations, which tend to stabilize the nematic director along either of the two diagonal axes. The switching between the bistable states is easily driven by orthogonal in-plane electric fields. A recent model of groove-induced surface anchoring due to Fukuda [Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 187803 (2007)] accounts for the azimuthal bistability in the present system. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.