Unstable states of antiferroelectric liquid crystal devices

The unstable states of an antiferroelectric liquid crystal cell have been investigated, mapping out the unstable branch of the hysteresis loop. It was found that the unstable branch extended over a much greater voltage range than the quasistatic hysteresis loop of the cell. The narrow hysteresis loop is attributed to the influence of defects within the cell, which can seed switching in the presence of a small energy barrier between initial and final states. The measurements indicate that the ferroelectric state may be fundamentally stable at 0 V.