Homeotropic liquid-crystal device with two metastable states

Abstract

We report a homeotropic liquid-crystal device which has two metastable states when an electric field is applied. The behaviors of these two metastable states are similar to the bistable twist nematic device. We control this device electrically in the rising period to switch it from the homeotropic state toward either the twist or homogeneous state. It not only behaves as a conventional homeotropic cell but also provides another twist structure for further applications. The back-flow effect in the rising period plays an important role in the switching mechanism. The experimental results are described in this letter. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)01525-9].