Failure analysis using ferroelectric liquid crystals

The complexity of present VLSI chips requires powerful tools to detect possible defects. For such a purpose, internal contactless testing methods such as electron beam or laser testing, have been developed to help the precise localization of the electrical defect. The aim of this paper is to describe the liquid crystals test method, used at the IBM COMPEC laboratory for failure analysis. The electro-optical properties of these materials allow the visualization of electric signals on the chips surface.     

Letter surface and bulk reorientation in ferroelectric liquid crystals

Abstract

The switching processes in ferroelectric liquid crystals are probed optically using a combination of transmission between crossed polarizers and surface evanescent field reflection techniques. This allows the behaviour of the liquid crystal director reorientation to be studied in the bulk of a device and near the surface simultaneously. Interesting behaviour is observed, and it is found that the processes can be adequately modelled using a simple one-dimensional model to represent the director structure across the thickness of the liquid crystal layer.     

Directly modulated semiconductor-laser-fed photonic delay line with ferroelectric liquid crystals

A 3-bit binary photonic delay line is demonstrated at 1 GHz by use of a directly modulated semiconductor laser and remote interconnection fiber optics. Three types of free-space delay-bit geometries are tested for 5.69-ns, 1.67-ns, and 8.8-ps designed delay bits. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that a photonic delay line is demonstrated with ferroelectric liquid-crystal optical on-off devices for optical path switching and active polarization noise filtering. Three-dimensional imaging optics and antireflection-coated optics (for all but five components) are used successfully to minimize photonic delay-line insertion losses and interchannel cross talk. The 3-bit system is fully characterized for measured and designed performance.     

Effect of elastic stresses on free oscillations in ferroelectric liquid crystals

It is shown experimentally that an elastic mechanical stress in a crystal structure is a necessary factor for the appearance of free oscillations of the director of a ferroelectric liquid crystal. Such a mechanical stress arises as a result of internal textural perturbations in the presence of regions with a different orientation of the director or is produced by external pressure applied to one of the cell plates in the appropriate direction. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 74–80 (March 26, 1999)     

Synthesis and properties of trifluoromethylated chiral dopants for ferroelectric liquid crystals

The synthesis and specific properties of a new family of chiral dopants for ferroelectric liquid crystals, which are derived from a series of trifluorinated dihydrofuranones and tetrahydrofurans, are described. On the basis of the structural features of designed materials and the MOPAC-PM 3 calculations, a discussion of the response time-structure relationships is given. Optically active trifluoromethylated materials with a tetrahydrofuran tail unit were found to be superior chiral dopants for preparing ferroelectric liquid crystalline compositions.     

Midinfrared modulation through the use of field-induced scattering in ferroelectric liquid crystals

The feasibility of the use of modulation devices based on field-induced transient scattering in ferroelectric liquid crystals (LC) to replace mechanical choppers used in uncooled infrared-imaging systems was investigated. Devices fabricated with ITO-coated ZnSe substrates and a ferroelectric LC path length of 25 μm were able to modulate optical radiation by transient forward scattering at rates approaching 20 kHz. Through the use of a commercial arbitrary waveform generator and associated PC-based software, drive waveforms were developed that produced a variable, square-wave optical-modulation pattern by the extension of the duration of the scattering state to periods ranging from hundreds of microseconds to milliseconds. The ability of these extended-scattering-mode (ESM) devices to modulate radiation in both the visible and midinfrared regions was verified in a simple experiment through the use of a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer, in which an unoptimized ESM device displayed a 40% modulation dep th for IR radiation in the 8-12-μm region.     

Dielectric and electro-optical study of ZnO nano rods doped ferroelectric liquid crystals

Addition of Nano rods results change in the dielectric and electro-optical properties of pure Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal (FLC) considerably. The present study is devoted to characterize the dielectric and electro-optical parameters of the FLC nano rods composite system. The size of nano rods is usually much bigger than that of FLC molecules, therefore, when they are doped in different concentrations, in pure FLC, their volume fraction plays considerable role in deciding the molecular dynamics of the resultant composite system. For the lesser concentrations, the nano rods offer mechanical strength to system geometry while at higher concentration of nano rods, they offer additional constraints on the system. In present report both of these aspects have been analyzed and explained.     

Electroclinic measurement of the coefficients of Landau expansion of some ferroelectric liquid crystals

The electroclinic effect in the smectic A phase of ferroelectric liquid crystals is a sensitive probe for measuring the soft mode response near the A-C* transition point. It is possible to evaluate several coefficients of the Landau theory describing the A-C* transition by simultaneously measuring the frequency dependence of both the optical signal and the current through the sample. We have made such measurements on a couple of homologous series [2S,3S]-4′-(2-chloro-3-methyl pentanoyloxy) phenyl-trans-4″-n alkoxy cinnamates synthesized in our labortory. The results show that the Landau meanfield theory is adequate to describe the A-C* phase transition in these compounds. Presented at the 15th International Liquid Crystal Conference, Budapest, 3–8 July 1994.     

Diffraction light modulator based on transverse electro-optic effect in short-pitch ferroelectric liquid crystals

A diffraction modulator that exploits the transverse electro-optic effect in ferroelectric liquid crystals is proposed for applications in displays and in spatial light modulators. Experiments with a short-pitch ferroelectric liquid crystal aligned homeotropically show an achromatic contrast ratio of greater than 100:1 available with oblique readout. The sources of the contrast deterioration and the tolerance of the proposed scheme to this deterioration are analyzed. For selected directions of readout the light output obtains low sensitivity to the polarization of the readout light. Nonlaser light sources can be used in a practical display setup based on the proposed principle.     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯基网络稳定铁电液晶的制备及性能

通过热引发聚合制备了聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯基网络稳定铁电液晶(PNSFLC)材料。采用热台偏光显微镜观察了由不同含量的甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)制备的PNSFLC样品的网络织构。采用紫外分光光度计在0～30V的电压条件下研究了PNSFLC样品的电光性能。采用阿贝折射仪在0～70℃范围内,研究了PSFLC的折射率随温度变化的关系。结果表明:随着(MMA)含量的增加,聚合物网络结构由稀疏至致密。当MMA含量为7%时,所制备的PNSFLC样品的电光响应比小分子液晶的电光性能成线性好,且该MMA含量的PNSFLC样品的热稳定性较好。     

Electro-optic switching and dielectric spectroscopy studies of ferroelectric liquid crystals with low and high spontaneous polarization

Electro-optic and dielectric studies have been carried out on two ferroelectric liquid crystalline materials: namely, the commercial mixture possessing low spontaneous polarization and pure material with high spontaneous polarization on cells with planar alignment. The calculated values of spontaneous polarization, response time and rotational viscosity were found ~ 240 nC/cm², 20 nC/cm², 1600 μs, 500 μs, 230 kg/ms and 19 kg/ms for high and low polarization ferroelectric liquid crystalline materials, respectively. For the ferroelectric liquid crystal with high polarization, the effect of temperature, frequency and bias field on the dielectric properties have been studied and the obtained results were compared to those obtained on the ferroelectric liquid crystalline mixture with low spontaneous polarization.     

Growth of ferroelectric lead metatantalate single crystals

Liquidus relations in the “Pb(BO₂)₂”-PbTa₂O₆, Pb(VO₃)₂-PbTa₂O₆, and Pb₂V₂O₇ —PbTa₂O₆ systems were studied in order to find solvents for growing ferroelectric lead metatantalate single crystals below 1300‡C. PbO-V₂O₅ melts were shown to be suitable solvents for growing lead metatantalate crystals with both rhombohedral and tetragonal potassium tungsten bronze structures. Ferroelectric PbTa₂O₆ crystals with a Curie temperature of 265‡C were grown from vanadate fluxes.     

Structure of Weiss domains in ferroelectric crystals

The structure of Weiss domains in ferroelectric crystals in each of which the polarization vector is constant, is investigated through a new variational principle. The general field equations are obtained and it is shown that in the presence of external electric field the total electric field is also constant in Weiss domains but is usually different from that of the polarization field. Moreover, it is proved that domain walls can only be planar surfaces. Finally the case corresponding to pure polarization fields is also treated and an illustrative problem is considered.     

铅基弛豫铁电单晶体的生长技术

铅基弛豫铁电单晶体由于其优异的压电性能在机电换能领域具有广泛的应用前景.介绍了铅基弛豫铁电单晶体生长技术的研究进展,比较了不同生长技术的优缺点,指出了目前晶体生长中出现的问题,并展望了其研究方向.     

Structure of weiss domains in elastic ferroelectric crystals

In this work a variational principle is proposed to study the existence and structure of Weiss domains in elastic ferroelectric crystals. Weiss domains are defined as certain subregions of the crystal in each of which the polarization vector is uniform and has a constant magnitude which is equal to the saturation polarization per unit mass for the crystal. The variational principle differs from previous ones in that the variations of the domain walls are also taken into account and it is a direct generalization of the one corresponding to the rigid crystals which we have proposed earlier. In deriving the general theory the dependence on the polarization gradients are also considered and the effect of this dependence when passing from one domain to another is represented by an appropriately chosen surface energy on domain walls. The domain structure is studied under homogeneous deformation. The effect of a small deformation field on the shape of domains is illustrated in the case of a rectangular uniaxial crystal which has initially no electric field inside. It is shown that the deformation creates a small electric field in the crystal and domain walls change slightly.     

Preparation of new ferroelectric glycine phosphite single crystals

An experimental procedure adopted to prepare the recent ferroelectric glycine phosphite single crystals is presented. As the crystal solubility in water depends on temperature, single crystals were grown from fine seed crystals in a saturated solution by employing the slow cooling technique. Transparent, colourless crystals with habit morphology weighing about 8 g were obtained within a month. The same procedure was used to grow single crystals with urea (UGPI). Powder X-ray diffraction studies as well as FTIR studies were carried out on both the crystals. The thermal properties of glycine phosphite (GPI) and UGPI across the ferroelectric phase transition temperature has been carried out. The results will be discussed in detail.     

Nonvolatile polymer memory with nanoconfinement of ferroelectric crystals

We demonstrate significantly improved performance of a nonvolatile polymeric ferroelectric field effect transistor (FeFET) memory using nanoscopic confinement of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-TrFE) within self-assembled organosilicate (OS) lamellae. Periodic OS lamellae with 30 nm in width and 50 nm in periodicity were templated using block copolymer self-assembly. Confined crystallization of PVDF-TrFE not only significantly reduces gate leakage current but also facilitates ferroelectric polarization switching. These benefits are due to the elimination of structural defects and the development of an effective PVDF-TrFE crystal orientation through nanoconfinement. A bottom gate FeFET fabricated using a single-crystalline triisopropylsilylethynyl pentacene channel and PVDF-TrFE/OS hybrid gate insulator shows characteristic source-drain current hysteresis that is fully saturated at a programming voltage of ±8 V with an ON/OFF current ratio and a data retention time of approximately 10(2) and 2 h, respectively.