Alignment and switching of AFLC materials using various boundary conditions

We have systematically studied the quality of bookshelf alignment and electro-optic characteristics of two antiferroelectric liquid crystal materials in cells with various boundary conditions. The electro-optic characteristics of the materials studied depend strongly on both the liquid crystal materials and the boundary conditions at the supporting substrates. We have compared a number of observations in these cells: the tendency to form AFLC domains in the virgin state and after switching; the surface electroclinic effect (SEC effect); the transmission-voltage characteristics (TV) when driven with triangular- and square-wave voltages at various frequencies; the threshold field and the conditions for relaxation to the AFLC state. The set of samples includes specially designed and manufactured test cells with different polyimides as alignment layers, treated with varying rubbing strengths. We discuss the significance of various factors and show the importance of simultaneously optimizing both materials and cell parameters for AFLC applications.