In this paper, we demonstrate strong flexoelectric coupling in bimesogenic liquid crystals. This strong coupling is determined via the flexoelectro-optic effect in chiral nematic liquid crystals based on bimesogenic mixtures that are doped with low concentrations of high twisting power chiral additive. Two mixtures were examined: one had a pitch length of p∼300nm, the other had a pitch length of p∼600nm. These mixtures exhibit enantiotropic chiral nematic phases close to room temperature. We found that full-intensity modulation, that is, a rotation of the optic axis of 45° between crossed polarizers, could be achieved at significantly lower applied electric fields (E<5Vμm−1) than previously reported. In fact, for the condition of full-intensity modulation, the lowest electric-field strength recorded was E=2Vμm−1. As a result of a combination of the strong flexoelectric coupling and a divergence in the pitch, tilt angles of the optic axis up to 87°, i.e., a rotation of the optic axis through 174°, were observed. Furthermore, the flexoelastic ratios, which may be considered as a figure-of-merit parameter, were calculated from the results and found to be large, ranging from 1.3to2C∕Nm for a temperature range of up to 40°C.

In this paper, a device type is presented in which the conventional geometry for the flexoelectro-optic effect is rotated, utilizing planar-aligned short-pitch chiral nematic and in-plane electric fields. The cell is optically neutral at zero applied field due to having its helix axis lie in the direction of light propagation, and at optical communication wavelengths ͑1550 nm͒ polarization rotation is insignificant due to the helical pitch of the material being shorter than the illuminating wavelength. An electric field, applied in the plane of the cell, has been found to induce a birefringence via a combination of dielectric helix unwinding and flexoelectric deformation of the director helix. The magnitude of the birefringence and direction of the induced optic axis in the plane of the cell are dependent on the amplitude and direction of the applied electric field, providing potential for use in a fast endlessly rotatable polarization controller. Herein, the chiral nematic materials utilized in the cell are bimesogenic liquid crystals designed to optimize the contribution from the flexoelectro-optic effect, and eliminate dielectric helix unwinding. The materials are also polymer network stabilized to preserve the texture against degradation in the applied fields. The results presented show a progression from a combined dielectric and flexoelectrically induced birefringence of 0.016 at field strengths up to 6.8 V / m, to a purely flexoelectric-induced birefringence of 0.0135, sufficient for a quarter wave plate in a 29-m-thick cell. Response times are of the order of hundreds of microseconds for both reaction to an applied field and relaxation upon removal.

In this letter, the uniform lying helix ͑ULH͒ liquid crystal texture, required for the flexoelectro-optic effect, is polymer stabilized by the addition of a small percentage of reactive mesogen to a high-tilt-angle ͑ Ͼ 60°͒ bimesogenic chiral nematic host. The electro-optic response is measured for a range of reactive mesogen concentration mixtures, and compared to the large-tilt-angle switch of the pure chiral nematic mixture. The optimum concentration of reactive mesogen, which is found to provide ample stabilization of the texture with minimal impact on the electro-optic response, is found to be approximately 3%. Our results indicate that polymer stabilization of the ULH texture using a very low concentration of reactive mesogen is a reliable way of ruggedizing flexoelectro-optic devices without interfering significantly with the electro-optics of the effect, negating the need for complicated surface alignment patterns or surface-only polymerization. The polymer stabilization is shown to reduce the temperature dependence of the flexoelectro-optic response due to "pinning" of the chiral nematic helical pitch. This is a restriction of the characteristic thermochromic behavior of the chiral nematic. Furthermore, selection of the temperature at which the sample is ultraviolet cured allows the tilt angle to be optimized for the entire chiral nematic temperature range. The response time, however, remains more sensitive to operating temperature than curing temperature. This allows the sample to be cured at low temperature and operated at high temperature, providing simultaneous optimization of these two previously antagonistic performance aspects.

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