Periodic splay Fréedericksz transitions in a ferroelectric nematic

Bijaya Basnet, Sathyanarayana Paladugu, Oleksandr Kurochkin, Oleksandr Buluy, Natalie Aryasova, Vassili G. Nazarenko (), Sergij V. Shiyanovskii and Oleg D. Lavrentovich ()
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Bijaya Basnet: Kent State University
Sathyanarayana Paladugu: Kent State University
Oleksandr Kurochkin: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Oleksandr Buluy: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Natalie Aryasova: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Vassili G. Nazarenko: National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Sergij V. Shiyanovskii: Kent State University
Oleg D. Lavrentovich: Kent State University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Electric field-induced splay of molecular orientation, called the Fréedericksz transition, is a fundamental electro-optic phenomenon in nonpolar nematic liquid crystals. In a ferroelectric nematic NF with a spontaneous electric polarization $${{\bf{P}}}$$ P , the splay is suppressed since it produces bound electric charges. Here, we demonstrate that an alternating current (ac) electric field causes three patterns of NF polarization. At low voltages, $${{\bf{P}}}$$ P oscillates around the field-free orientation with no stationary deformations. As the voltage increases, the polarization acquires stationary distortions, first splay and twist in a stripe pattern and then splay and bend in a square lattice of +1 and -1 defects. In all patterns, $${{\bf{P}}}$$ P oscillates around the stationary orientations. The stationary bound charge is reduced by a geometrical “splay cancellation” mechanism that does not require free ions: the charge created by splay in one plane is reduced by splay of an opposite sign in the orthogonal plane.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-55827-9

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