Smectic layer deformation of ferroelectric liquid crystal sandwiched between polymer walls with anchoring effects

We studied smectic layer structures of ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) formed in elongated small spaces surrounded by molecule-aligned polymer walls and robbed polyimide alignment layers. The polymer walls, which are parallel to the rubbing direction and vertical to the alignment layers, were formed by the photopolymerization of an aligned monomer under patterned ultraviolet light irradiation. From the observation of the alignment textures of the FLC between the polymer walls with a polarizing microscope, it was found that the smectic layer structure was changed from vertical plane bending alignment (chevron structure), as observed with a conventional surface-stabilized FLC, into horizontal plane bending, as the interval between the polymer walls decreased. It is thought that the smectic layer structure is governed by the competition between the anchoring effects of the alignment polyimide layers and the molecule-aligned polymer walls.