Polarization Distribution in Ferroelectric Nematic Liquid Crystal Cells with Rubbing Treatment

Abstract

Ferroelectric nematic liquid crystal (FNLC) materials that appear ferroelectricity in the highly symmetric nematic liquid crystal phase state have been reported and are attracting high attention from both fundamental and applied perspectives. It is essential to intentionally control spontaneous polarization for new device applications. However, the orientation mechanism and detailed polarization distribution remain unclear. We investigated the polarization distribution of FNLCs in parallel and anti-parallel rubbing cells and proposed the polarization models in each cell. We found that on the surface of rubbed polyimide films, the polarization direction is fixed and opposite to the rubbing direction, and splay and twist distribution of the polarization are formed in each cell, respectively.