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E. P. Pozhidaev^1,2, S. I. Torgova¹, E. M. Budynina^1,3, T. P. Tkachenko^1,2, A. V. Kuznetsov^1,2, V. A. Barbashov¹

Author affiliations
¹P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute,
53 Leninsky Pr., Moscow, 119991, Russia
²Moscow Aviation Institute (National Research University),
4 Volokolamskoe Sh., Moscow, 125993, Russia
³Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Chemistry,
1-3 Leninskie gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia
E-mail: epozhidaev@mail.ru

Abstract
We report the development of chiral smectic C* (SmC*) ferroelectric materials with a short helix pitch p₀ < 150 nm obtained by mixing a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) and chiral non-mesogenic dopants. Chiral dopants are optically active lactates based on terphenyldicarboxylic acid, and the NLC is a binary eutectic mixture of phenyl- and biphenylpyrimidines. The appearance of the SmC* phase in mixtures was confirmed by dielectric, optical and electro-optical measurements. The proposed method for the elaboration of smectic C* material makes it possible to create innovative electro-optical media that combine the mechanical stability of NLC and a high switching frequency of ferroelectric liquid crystals. The high twisting power of chiral lactates in the developed nematic matrix made it possible to obtain a satisfactory optical quality of induced SmC* in electro-optical cells that can efficiently operate up to frequency of 3 kHz.

Keywords: ferroelectric liquid crystal, chiral dopants, nematic matrix, helix pitch