Hysteresis Effects in Blue-Phase Liquid Crystals

Hysteresis effects of two blue-phase (BP) liquid crystals BP-I and BP-II, and polymer-stabilized BP-I and BP-II are investigated. BP-I exhibits a relatively slow response time and a large hysteresis. After polymer stabilization, its operating voltage is increased slightly, but its response time is dramatically reduced and hysteresis narrowed. In contrast, BP-II exhibits almost no hysteresis and submillisecond response time, but after polymer stabilization its hysteresis is amplified.