铁电液晶因具有低电压驱动下的微秒级响应, 近年来得到科研工作者的广泛关注, 且有望应用于下一代显示及光子学器件领域。本文介绍3种典型铁电液晶光电模式, 分别为表面稳定型(surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal, SSFLC)、螺旋形变型(deformed helix ferroelectric, DHF)及电致解旋型(electrically suppressed helix, ESH)。对各光电模式的工作原理及对应的电光效应进行详细阐述, 如双稳及多稳态响应、连续灰阶调制、高对比度开关等。同时, 光控取向技术在铁电液晶器件中发挥着至关重要的作用。相较于传统摩擦取向层, 光控偶氮染料取向层可实现非接触的、锚定能有效控制的铁电液晶取向, 这为铁电液晶器件的无缺陷、大面积均匀取向提供前期基础。因此, 高对比度、高分辨率、快响应的铁电液晶器件在未来的场序彩色显示、微型显示、2D/3D显示等领域有着广阔应用前景。

The ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) which has the advantage of a fast response under a low electric field has become one of the most promising candidates of the next generation liquid crystal display (LCD) as well as photonic devices. Three electrooptic modes including surface stabilized FLC (SSFLC), deformed helix ferroelectric (DHF) mode, and electrically suppressed helix (ESH) mode are reviewed with the corresponding electrooptic effects like bi-and multi-stable switching, continuous modulation of grayscale or phase, and high contrast switching. Moreover, the photo-aligning technique is in high demand compared with the traditional rubbing method for FLC devices, since photo-aligning is a non-contact process, which avoids static charges, particles, and contacting damages. With the advantages of controllable anchoring energy, the photoalignment provides FLC samples with uniform alignment and high contrast ratio. The fast FLCs with a high resolution and high contrast can be applied in the next generation display including field sequential color FLC micro-displays as well as switchable 2D/3D televisions.