Ring-substituted diphenyldiacetylenes for use in ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulators

摘要

Abstract: Ferroelectric smectic C* liquid crystals have been shown to exhibit high speed, multistate electro-optic switching, particularly when incorporated into the surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) light valve. Certain applications utilizing IR modulation, waveguide, phase modulation, and fiber-optic devices can benefit from a birefringence higher than the value of $Delta@n $EQ 0.15 seen in typical FLC materials. By incorporating the highly conjugated diacetylene moiety into an FLC core, an increase in birefringence greater than $Delta@n $EQ 0.3 is achieved. Lateral fluorination of the core induces a strong preference for the tilted smectic C phase as compared to the unfluorinated materials which typically show the nematic phase. The effect of other substitutions is explored on the mesogenic properties of the basic core structure.!11