Influence of the bias-voltage on the anchoring energy for nematic liquid crystals

The influence of the bias-voltage on the anisotropic part of the nematic surface energy is analyzed. The experimental data show a strong dependence of the anchoring strength on the bias-voltage when the electrodes of the nematic cell are covered with WO₃. The observed dependence can be interpreted taking into account the ions dissolved in the liquid crystal. We propose a model in which the effect of the bias-voltage is to collect the ions near the electrodes, in a surface layer whose thickness is of the order of the Debye’s screening length. The surplus of electric field due to this ions confinement gives rise to an electrostatic contribution to the total energy that can be considered as a surface energy. The proposed model is in good agreement with the experimental data. The model is used to interpret the observed independence of the anchoring strength on the bias-voltage when the (indium-tin-oxide) electrode is covered with a film of polyimide, or it is without any covering. The influence of a charge emission from the electrodes under the bias voltage on the anchoring energy is also analyzed. Possible applications of the observed phenomenon are discussed.