Thermooptic data storage in the chiral ferroelectric smectic $C^*$ phase of liquid crystals

A study was made of the use of a smectic phase (chiral ferroelectric smectic $C^*$ in thermooptic pulsed recording and recall of optical data. Methods were developed for preparing oriented textures of the smectic $C^*$ and the scattering indicatrices of the investigated mixture were obtained for coherent and noncoherent illumination. The parameters of planar capillaries filled with the smectic $C^*$ were determined at the wavelengths of $\lambda=0,69$ and $1,06\mu m$: these parameters were the threshold sensitivity ($\thicksim1-10^{-1}$ J/cm${}^2$, depending on the wavelength of the recording radiation), dynamic range $(\thicksim10^2)$, and spatial resolution (20 mm${}^{-1}$).