Electrically addressed and thermally erased cholesteric cells

A new electrically addressed and thermally erased cholesteric cell has been investigated. The helical pitch of the cholesteric mixture becomes longer with increasing temperature. After an electric field is applied to the mixture, a focal conic texture is formed. When being heated, the cholesteric phase has a tendency to adopt a planar texture. This is because the planar texture is stabler than the focal conic one when the pitch is longer. Both textures are stable at room temperature without external fields.