Anchoring Energy of Some Nematic Liquid Crystals at Aligment Layers of Different Topography

Using a high electric field method, the anchoring energy was measured for tilted homogeneous cells filled with nematic liquid crystals (5CB, ZLI 1132). These cells contain aligment layers of five different types obtained either by SiO depositions at various incidence angles or by special polyvinylic alcohol (PVA) coatings. The observed differences in the anchoring energy values are due to the differences in the layer topography.