Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: An electro-optic shift register uses proximity effects to propagate data more efficiently. The apparatus includes a pair of conducting planes separated by a plane spacing, whereby one of the conducting planes includes a plurality of electrodes having an electrode gap narrower than the plane spacing. A Surface Stabilized Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal is located between the conducting planes with a thickness sufficient to enable the formation of a domain wall between the pixels corresponding with the electrodes. The resulting domain wall also overlaps the pixels and the corresponding electrodes. The domain wall provides a desirable proximity effect by overlapping regions having nonzero electrostatic potential. A three-phase timing sequence ensures the domain wall propagates in a single direction.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: Articles exhibiting fabricated structures with nanometer size scale features (nanostructures), typically a device comprising nanostructures of a functional material on or in a substrate of dissimilar material, are produced by a method employing a substrate base or coating and a thin layer serving as a lithographic mask or template, consisting of a self-assembled ordered material array, typically a periodic array of molecules such as undenatured proteins, exhibiting holes, thickness or density variations. It is possible to produce complex structures containing large numbers of nanometers scale elements through a small number of simple steps.

Abstract: Articles exhibiting fabricated structures with nanometer size scale features (nanostructures), typically a device comprising nanostructures of a functional material on or in a substrate of dissimilar material, are produced by a method employing a substrate base or coating and a thin layer serving as a lithographic mask or template, consisting of a self-assembled ordered material array, typically a periodic array of molecules such as undenatured proteins, exhibiting holes, thickness or density variations. It is possible to produce complex structures containing large numbers of nanometers scale elements through a small number of simple steps.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ along or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: Apparatus for forming a film of uniformly oriented molecules from a solution or suspension of the molecules including means to house the molecules in a swinging bucket centrifugation apparatus. The housing means has a gravitational isopotential surface with a radius of curvature equal to the distance between the surface and the spin axis of the centrifugation apparatus. The isopotential surface is normal to the direction of the gravitational forces during spinning. Means for evaporating solvent during centrifugation is provided.

Abstract: An electro-optical device including a chiral smectic C or H liquid crystal disposed between flat plates treated to enforce molecular orientation parallel to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form two stable states of the orientation field. The liquid crystal is switched between two stable states by reversing the polarity of an externally applied electric field to make a bistable light valve or other electro-optical devices.

Abstract: Films having uniformly oriented molecules or molecular structures are formed by centrifuging a suspension or solution of molecules or molecular structures onto a gravitational isopotential surface in the bucket of a swinging bucket rotor or in a rotor tube of a fixed angle rotor while evaporating the suspending or solvating liquid.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to fore either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combianiton non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is repsonsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro0optical device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ along or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.

Abstract: A liquid crystal device including a ferroelectric liquid crystal disposed between plates treated to enforce a particular ferroelectric molecular orientation to the plates. The devices employ alone or in combination non-planar boundary conditions, polar boundary conditions, boundaries with multiple physical states, intrinsic spontaneous splay distortion of the polarization orientation field, combined ferroelectric and dielectric torques, layers tilted with respect to the plates. The plates are spaced by a distance sufficiently small to ensure unwinding of the helix typical in a bulk of the material to form either monostable, bistable or multistable states which exhibit novel electro-optic properties. The liquid crystal is responsive to an externally applied electric field, temperature or the like to make a light valve or other electro-optical device.