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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals
Published on: August 15, 2018
Effect of high spontaneous polarization on defect structures and orientational dynamics of tilted chiral smectic
Darren R Link1, Nattaporn Chattham, Joseph E Maclennan
1Department of Physics, and Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Materials Research Center, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0390, USA.
Abstract:
The director structure around topological defects and in 2pi walls in the two-dimensional orientation field of thin freely suspended films of tilted chiral smectic liquid crystal is observed to minimize splay of the spontaneous polarization. Concentric ring patterns in the director field unwind more slowly in higher polarization films. These experiments confirm that polarization space charge increases the effective elasticity of static polarization-splay distortions and that it attracts ionic charge, leading to an increase in the effective orientational viscosity of the director field.
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