Bistable ferroelectric liquid crystal devices

A method of making a liquid crystal electro-optic device comprising:

• providing a pair of substrates with a pair of electrodes thereon, the pair of electrodes positioned on one of the substrates or one electrode positioned on each substrate, the pair of substrates having a gap there between;
• providing single liquid crystal material in the gap between the pair of substrates, the liquid crystal material being a ferroelectric, oligosiloxane liquid crystal material exhibiting an I→SmC* phase sequence;
• wherein the ferroelectric, oligosiloxane liquid crystal material is selected from:
• where R═W, or CdH(2d+1) and d=1-10 and
• W=
• or a pyrimidine, or a tolane:
• where R′, and R″=are independently selected from CrH(2r+1) and r=1 to 4, or a phenyl group;
• c=1 to 10;
• n=3-14;
• a=0 or 1;
• m=1 or 2;
• s=1 or 2;
• q=0 or 1, where T=O, CH═N, N═CH, CF2O, OCF2, NHCO, or CONH;
• Y=is independently selected from, H, halogen, NO2, CN, CH3, CF3;
• Q=O, COO, or OCO, where b=0 or 1;
• and X=an alkyl group with at least one chiral center or halo-substituted alkyl group with at least one chiral center;
• and
• applying a first electric field to align the liquid crystal device while cooling the ferroelectric, oligosiloxane liquid crystal material, or while the ferroelectric, oligosiloxane liquid crystal material is in the SmC* phase, or both, to create a monodomain.