Novel ferroelectric liquid-crystalline polymers with fast electro-optic switching times

The synthesis and ferroelectric properties of several novel liquid-crystalline polymers are presented. By manipulating the number of side-group mesogens attached to the polysiloxane backbone, it has been possible to achieve many significant properties: large range of the ferroelectric smectic C<SUP>∗</SUP> phase extending to sub-ambient temperatures, spontaneous polarization values up to 300 nC/cm<SUP>2</SUP> at the lowest temperatures, and bistable electro-optic switching times approaching 100 μs near the smectic C<SUP>∗</SUP>-smectic A transition temperature. These properties are attractive from the point of view of display applications