S0501-4-2 Velocity Profile of Liquid Crystalline Backflow in Hybrid Anchoring Cell

The velocity profile of backflow in a hybrid anchoring nematic liquid crystalline cell is experimentally and numerically analyzed to investigate the effect of initial molecular configuration on the backflow. From the results, it is found that there are two stages with different time scales of the backflow development. One is the rapid increase of the flow just after applying of an electric field, and the other is the transition of the back flow profile. While the transition occurs in the time scale of several tens of milliseconds, the increase occurs in several microseconds. Since the hybrid anchoring cell effectively create the backflow. it must be useful for the liquid crystal applications which utilize the backflow, such as liquid crystalline actuators.