Magnetic Field Effects on Preparing Thin Homogeneous Ferroelectric Smectic Cells for Electro-Optical Microsecond Switches

The effects of a magnetic field on the preparation of homogeneously aligned thin cells are examined with a 1∼12 µm wedge-shaped cell of 2-methylbutyl p -( p - n -decyloxybenzylideneamino) cinnamate (DOBAMBC). Analyzing the properties of this cell, we concluded that the wide temperature range where the Sm A and the isotropic phases coexist is desirable for preparing thin cells of good quality. We actually widened this range by using an aged, degraded sample of DOBAMBC, and succeeded in obtaining a reasonably good cell of 3.5 µm thickness by applying 24 KG.