Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.560, 75-81, 2012
Nematic Bistable Device Using a Metastable Anti-Conical Surface Anchoring
We propose a bistable nematic device implementing the recently observed anti-conical degenerated anchoring on a grafted polystyrene surface. The anti-conical surface presents two energy minima, planar degenerated and homeotropic, separated by a conical energy barrier. Under moderate electric field the anchoring is broken, the surface director jumps across the energy barrier and the device switches between two optically distinct bistable textures.