Measurement of flexoelectric coefficients in nematic liquid crystals using shallow grating devices

Journal article

A nematic device with a shallow grating and homeotropic anchoring is used to probe the flexoelectric effect. Applying a sinusoidally varying voltage across the cell, the transmittance of the device between crossed polarisers is found to consist of a mixture of 1st and 2nd harmonics, corresponding to the flexoelectric and dielectric responses of the director to the applied electric field. The results are compared with theoretical ones generated using a 1-dimensional approximation to the cell structure, and a value for the sum of the flexoelectric coefficients determined.

Authors: Sykulska, H; Parry-Jones, L; Elston, S

• Journal: Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals
• Volume: 436
• Publication date: 2005-01-01
• DOI: 10.1080/15421400590955839
• EISSN: 1563-5287
• ISSN: 1542-1406
• Language: English
• Keywords: Nematic; Harmonics; Grating; Measurement; Flexoelectricity