Dynamic response of ferroelectric liquid crystals at the alignment film surfaces and in the bulk were investigated by time-resolved spectroellipsometry (TRSE) in bookshelf-type surface stabilized ferroelectfic liquid crystal (SSFLC) cells with different alignment filmS. Comparison of the results of total-reflection and transmission TRSE experiments indicates that the dynamic behavior of the surface molecules is different from that of the bulk molecules and that the surface tilt angle is markedly changed when the alignment film is changed.
