Dielectric investigations of induced memory in chiral doped nematic liquid crystal

Abstract

When an electric field is applied to thin film of a chiral doped nematic liquid crystal, unwinding of the helix takes place. Due to the competition of elastic forces of the material with the electrical and surface anchoring forces, defect lines are created. Sometimes after the removal of electric field, the system does not relax back to the original state and shows optical and electro-optical hysteresis. The induction of memory as a result of manipulation of the helix director remains an active field of study and can be useful for the development of memory based bistable low power devices.