Molecular director and layer response of chevron surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals to low electric field

Recent papers on chevron surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cells claim that the chevron layer structure can be reversibly uprighted by application of the low to moderate electric fields typically employed to produce director reorientation. In this paper we show, using optical microscopy and X-ray scattering, that there is no significant change in the smectic layer thickness or chevron layer structure of our chevron surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cells under typical director switching conditions. Furthermore, we present arguments, based on the known elastic properties of smectics, that there is not likely to be a significant elastic layer response to these levels of applied electric field in any surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cell with anchored layers. Both the switching and observed continuous optical response to applied field can be understood on the basis of electric field induced reorientation of a non-uniform molecular director distribution. We further show that the typically observed broad distribution of layer orientations about the mean chevron structure arises from localized layering defects.