Stroboscopic microscopy of fast electro-optic switching in ferroelectric smectic C liquid crystals

We have characterized the process that yields high-speed, bistable, electro-optic switching in the surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal geometry, at intermediate electric fields. Switching proceeds by a continuous reversal of ferroelectric polarization in regions away from the surfaces of the sample, followed by the nucleation and growth of domains of reversed polarization in the remaining surface layers. A model involving bulk distortion+electrostatic+surface free energy successfully accounts for the variation of the switching process with changes in applied electric field.