Bistable Liquid Crystal Device Realized on Microscopic Orientational Pattern

Alignment pattern of checkerboard was constructed by the stylus of atomic force microscope. Orientational bistability of the nematic liquid crystal was realized on that frustrated surface alignment. Macroscopic orientational switching between two perpendicular directions took place by an appropriate in-plane electric field. The threshold electric fields decreased in both switching directions as temperature increased. The focused laser heated up only the limited domains in the cell including a light-absorbing medium. Irradiating the laser concurrently with an appropriate electric field, we switched the selected unit domains in the alignment pattern. The switched domains maintained stably the switched direction without the disturbance from the exterior. Extending and repeating this process, we realized extremely fine devices of bistable switching.