Switching process in surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystals: the number of states and walls observed during switching between bistable uniform states

Switching processes in the surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal cells are divided into two categories, an internal disclination node and a cooperative mode. These two modes are characterized by the nucleation processes of surface and internal disclinations. The occurrence of each mode depends on the direction of the selective pre-tilt of the C-director at glass surfaces caused by the layer structure in the SC phase. The number of states and walls are discussed by considering the appearing sequence of surface and internal disclinations.