Premium
Fast electroclinic switching in a ferroelectric LC‐polysiloxane
Author(s) -
Poths Holger,
Andersson Gunnar,
Skarp Kew,
Zentel Rudolf
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.19920041204
Subject(s) - materials science , ferroelectricity , liquid crystal , phase (matter) , electric field , polymer , switching time , fast switching , nonlinear system , optoelectronics , nonlinear optical , dielectric , composite material , voltage , organic chemistry , electrical engineering , chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
A ferroelectric liquid‐crystal (LC) polymer with extremely rapid electroclinic switching is reported: The LC‐polysiloxane can optically follow an electric field of more than 100 kHz. This high switching speed should make it possible to transform spoken language into optical signals for transmission through optical fibers. The polymer exhibits strictly linear behavior in the high‐temperature region of the smectic A* phase, in which the high‐speed switching occurs, while pronounced nonlinearity is found as the smectic C* phase is approached. For applications in which a nonlinear response is acceptable, the greater contrast in this region is a bonus.