Layer and Director Profiles in Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal Displays Subjected to Mechanical Damage

Ferroelectric liquid crystal devices are notoriously susceptible to mechanical damage. Engineering approaches have reduced flow and shear effects using a polymer wall to maintain the cell spacing across the panel1. This was used to produce a 6 double prime video rate display with 64 grey levels and a resistance to mechanical shock which is comparable to commercial STN panels2. However, a fundamental understanding of the mechanical damaged structure and its relation to the FLC physical properties is required. In this work X-ray diffraction is used to determine the smectic layer structure arising from mechanical damage.