Periodic splay Fréedericksz transitions in a ferroelectric nematic

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Basnet, Bijaya, Paladugu, Sathyanarayana, Kurochkin, Oleksandr, Buluy, Oleksandr, Aryasova, Natalie, Nazarenko, Vassili G., Shiyanovskii, Sergij V., Lavrentovich, Oleg D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Basnet, Bijaya
Paladugu, Sathyanarayana
Kurochkin, Oleksandr
Buluy, Oleksandr
Aryasova, Natalie
Nazarenko, Vassili G.
Shiyanovskii, Sergij V.
Lavrentovich, Oleg D.
author_facet Basnet, Bijaya
Paladugu, Sathyanarayana
Kurochkin, Oleksandr
Buluy, Oleksandr
Aryasova, Natalie
Nazarenko, Vassili G.
Shiyanovskii, Sergij V.
Lavrentovich, Oleg D.
contents Electric field-induced splay of molecular orientation, called the Fréedericksz transition, is a fundamental electro-optic phenomenon in nonpolar nematic liquid crystals. In a ferroelectric nematic NF with a spontaneous electric polarization P, the splay is suppressed since it produces bound electric charges. Here, we demonstrate that an alternating current (ac) electric field causes three patterns of NF polarization. At low voltages, P oscillates around the field-free orientation with no stationary deformations. As the voltage increases, the polarization acquires stationary distortions, first splay and twist in a stripe pattern and then splay and bend in a square lattice of +1 and -1 defects. In all patterns, P oscillates around the stationary orientations. The stationary bound charge is reduced by a geometrical splay cancellation mechanism that does not require free ions: the charge created by splay in one plane is reduced by splay of an opposite sign in the orthogonal plane.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_09553
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Periodic splay Fréedericksz transitions in a ferroelectric nematic
Basnet, Bijaya
Paladugu, Sathyanarayana
Kurochkin, Oleksandr
Buluy, Oleksandr
Aryasova, Natalie
Nazarenko, Vassili G.
Shiyanovskii, Sergij V.
Lavrentovich, Oleg D.
Soft Condensed Matter
Materials Science
Electric field-induced splay of molecular orientation, called the Fréedericksz transition, is a fundamental electro-optic phenomenon in nonpolar nematic liquid crystals. In a ferroelectric nematic NF with a spontaneous electric polarization P, the splay is suppressed since it produces bound electric charges. Here, we demonstrate that an alternating current (ac) electric field causes three patterns of NF polarization. At low voltages, P oscillates around the field-free orientation with no stationary deformations. As the voltage increases, the polarization acquires stationary distortions, first splay and twist in a stripe pattern and then splay and bend in a square lattice of +1 and -1 defects. In all patterns, P oscillates around the stationary orientations. The stationary bound charge is reduced by a geometrical splay cancellation mechanism that does not require free ions: the charge created by splay in one plane is reduced by splay of an opposite sign in the orthogonal plane.
title Periodic splay Fréedericksz transitions in a ferroelectric nematic
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.09553