Guest-host ferroelectric side-chain liquid crystalline polymeric materials with improved electro-optical properties

A ferroelectric side-chain liquid crystalline polysiloxane (FLCP) containing azobenzene dyes as guest molecules for electro-optics has been investigated. The intensity and frequency of the Goldstone mode for the FLCP were increased remarkably after doping with azobenzene dyes. Larger fluctuation of the spontaneous polarization vector in each smectic layer under an applied electric field can be brought about with the addition of a strong dipole-moment guest molecule. This leads to a larger spontaneous polarization and shorter response time. It was found that the doping of a suitable amount of a strong dipole-moment azobenzene dye in the LC phase of the FLCP is helpful for the improvement of the electro-optical properties.