Multiplexing of twisted nematic cells under nonrigid boundary conditions

The possibility of increasing the degree of multiplexing of twisted nematic cells has been investigated by taking the following factors into consideration: unequal elastic constants and arbitrary dielectric anisotropy for the liquid crystal medium, and a general anisotropic interfacial potential. It can be shown that the achievable degree of multiplexing of twisted nematic cells under the nonrigid boundary condition can be improved by a factor of 10 to 50 over the case of the rigid boundary condition, in contradiction to a factor of two predicted by Nehring, Kmetz, and Scheffer [J. Appl. Phys. 47, 850 (1976)]. The effect on the degree of multiplexing by different forms of the anisotropic interfacial potential is also discussed.