ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the special nature of liquid crystal phases that are composed of chiral molecules and looks at their suitability for technological applications. Chirality in liquid crystals and in science generally, has been the subject of intense research in recent years, and is directly responsible for important technological applications. Historically, the chiral nematic phase was called the cholesteric phase because the first materials exhibiting this phase were cholesterol derivatives. Chiral materials, not necessarily liquid crystalline, must be added to nematic mixtures for some display devices. The form chirality of all of these chiral smectic mesophases takes the form of a helical structure, but the helix manifests itself in a different way from the helix in the chiral nematic phase. Chiral smectic C materials have mostly been designed to have a high Ps and a low viscosity to enable their use in ferroelectric devices. Chiral main chain liquid crystal polymers have also been prepared.
