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Thermodielectric bistability in dual frequency nematic liquid crystal
Y Yin1, S V Shiyanovskii, O D Lavrentovich
1Chemical Physics Interdisplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA.
None:
We report on a thermodielectric bistability in dual frequency nematic liquid crystals (LCs) caused by the anisotropic nature of dielectric heating and director reorientation in an electric field. The bistability is a result of the positive feedback loop: director reorientation --> anisotropic dielectric heating --> dielectric anisotrophy --> director reorientation. We demonstrate both experimentally and theoretically that two states with different temperature and director orientation, namely, a cold planar state and a hot homeotropic state coexist in a LC cell for a certain frequency and amplitude range of the applied voltage.
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