Microdomain texture produced for an analog gray-scale technique using ferroelectric liquid crystals containing nanometer-scale particles

We have previously reported a novel gray-scale technique to be used with ferroelectric liquid-crystal (FLC) displays. The technique uses the microdomain texture, and the addition of nanometer-scale particles into the FLC mixture enables a wide distribution of threshold voltages within one pixel. We now report that threshold-voltage broadening is caused by an increase in the smectic-layer tilt angles and this microdomain growth is pinned by nanometer-scale particles. We found, moreover, that the microdomain texture can be classified into two types, depending on the switching process.