scholarly journals Field-driven pattern formation in nematic liquid crystals: mesoscopic simulations of electroconvection

RSC Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (67) ◽  
pp. 42218-42224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuang-Wu Lee ◽  
Thorsten Pöschel

Directional flow, which has the potential for precise colloidal transportation, is found in liquid crystal microfluidics under an external electric field.

MRS Bulletin ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Zimmermann

One hundred years after their discovery, we meet liquid crystals everywhere in our daily life. Their most widely known application is the liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in watches, pocket calculators, or gasoline pumps. Applications aside, liquid crystals show many exciting properties, making them highly interesting for fundamental research. For example, electrohydrodynamic convection (EHC) in nematic liquid crystals, which is studied in cells of a configuration similar to liquid crystal displays, serves with its characteristic properties as a model System for investigating central questions of pattern formation and chaos.Today's liquid crystal displays work on the principle described in 1971 by Martin Schadt and Wolfgang Helfrich (Figure 1). In nematic liquid crystals, organic molecules orient on average along a macroscopic direction, described by the director field n(r), that has neither head nor tail (n = −n). Nematics are therefore anisotropic and for energetic reasons, n(r) orients parallel (perpendicular) to an electric field when the dielectric permittivity (ε∥) along n is larger (smaller) than the perpendicular (ε⊦ one. For positive εa = ε∥ − ε⊦, when an electric field is applied perpendicular to the direction of n, a reorientation of n takes place together with a corresponding change in the optical property of the cell. The controlled change by an electric field in the optic axis (orientation) in well-defined areas of the display then allows the representation of numbers, etc.


2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Nowinowski-Kruszelnicki ◽  
J. Kędzierski ◽  
Z. Raszewski ◽  
L. Jaroszewicz ◽  
M. Kojdecki ◽  
...  

AbstractA new method for quick and pretty accurate measurements of splay, twist and bend elastic constants of nematic liquid crystals is experimentally verified. The main concept relies on exploiting only the electric field and determining magnitudes of nematic elastic constants from threshold fields for Freedericksz transitions in only one hybrid in-plane-switched cell. In such cell the deformations of an investigated liquid crystal are controlled by three separated pairs of electrodes confining measurement domains. In two of them inter-digital electrodes are mounted on one cell cover. Splay, twist and bend elastic constants can be measured by a proper choice of electrodes’ configuration together with orienting cover coatings (without applying magnetic fields). In this paper, we describe layout of our cells and results of experimental tests by using different liquid crystals: 5CB and 6CHBT (with positive dielectric anisotropy), Demus’ esters (with negative dielectric anisotropy) and new liquid crystals mixtures produced in our university.


Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Fenoll ◽  
Francisco Brocal ◽  
José David Segura ◽  
Manuel Ortuño ◽  
Augusto Beléndez ◽  
...  

A holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) is used to record holographic diffraction gratings. Several mixtures of nematic liquid crystals (LC) are used as components of the HPDLC to evaluate their influence in static and dynamic basic properties. The diffraction efficiency obtained in the reconstruction of the holograms is evaluated to compare the influence of the different LC. Additionally, the samples are exposed to a variable electric field and the diffracted light intensity as a function of the applied voltage is measured to evaluate the influence of the LC. The results obtained show significant differences depending on the LC incorporated to the photopolymer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 115
Author(s):  
Miłosz Chychłowski ◽  
Tomasz Woliński

In this paper, we investigate an external electric field frequency influence on a photonic liquid crystal fiber (PLCF) based on a gold nanoparticles (NPs)-doped nematic liquid crystal (LC) and its response to the external electric field. We used a 6CHBT nematic LC doped with 2-nm gold NPs in a weight concentration of 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, and 0.5%. Full Text: PDF ReferencesJ. C. Knight, T. A. Birks, P. St. J. Russell, and D. M. Atkin, "All-silica single-mode optical fiber with photonic crystal cladding," Opt. Lett. 21, 1547-1549 (1996) CrossRef J. C. Knight,T. A. Birks, P. S. J.Russell, , and J. P. De Sandro, "Properties of photonic crystal fiber and the effective index model", JOSA A, 15(3), 748-752, (1998) CrossRef S. A. Cerqueira,F. Luan, C. M. B. Cordeiro, A. K. George, and J. C. Knight, "Hybrid photonic crystal fiber", "Optics Express", 14(2), 926-931,(2006) CrossRef W. Bragg, "Liquid Crystals", Nature 133, 445-456, (1934) https://doi.org/10.1038/133445a0 CrossRef J. Kędzierski, K. Garbat, Z. Raszewski, M. Kojdecki, K. Kowiorski, L. Jaroszewicz, and W. Piecek, "Optical properties of a liquid crystal with small ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices and small optical anisotropy", Opto-Electronics Review, 22(3), 162-165, (2014) CrossRef Y. Li, and S. T. Wu, "Polarization independent adaptive microlens with a blue-phase liquid crystal", Optics express, 19(9), 8045-8050, (2011) CrossRef T. Woliński, S. Ertman, K. Rutkowska, D. Budaszewski, M. Sala-Tefelska, M. Chychłowski, K. Orzechowski, K. Bednarska, P. Lesiak, "Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers - 15 years of research activities at Warsaw University of Technology", Phot. Lett. Pol., (11), (2), 22-24, (2019) https://doi.org/10.4302/plp.v11i2.907. CrossRef T.T. Larsen, A. Bjraklev, D.S. Hermann, J. Broeng, Opt. Expr. 11(20), 2589, (2003) CrossRef T.R. Woliński, K. Szaniawska, K. Bondarczuk, P. Lesiak, A.W. Domański, R. Dąbrowski, E. Nowinowski-Kruszelnicki, J. Wójcik, "Propagation properties of photonic crystal fibers filled with nematic liquid crystals", Opto-Electron. Rev. 13(2), 59 (2005) DirectLink L. Scolari, S. Gauza, H. Xianyu, L. Zhai, L. Eskildsen, T. T. Alkeskjold, S.-T. Wu, and A. Bjarklev, "Frequency tunability of solid-core photonic crystal fibers filled with nanoparticle-doped liquid crystals," Opt. Express 17(5), 3754-3764 (2009). CrossRef A. Siarkowska, M. Chychłowski, D. Budaszewski, B. Jankiewicz, B. Bartosewicz, and T. R. Woliński, "Thermo-and electro-optical properties of photonic liquid crystal fibers doped with gold nanoparticles", Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, 8(1), 2790-2801, (2017) CrossRef D. Budaszewski, M. Chychłowski, A. Budaszewska, B. Bartosewicz, B. Jankiewicz, and T. R. Woliński, "Enhanced efficiency of electric field tunability in photonic liquid crystal fibers doped with gold nanoparticles", Optics express, 27(10), 14260-14269, (2019) CrossRef D. Budaszewski, A. Siarkowska, M. Chychłowski, B. Jankiewicz, B. Bartosewicz, R. Dąbrowski, T. R. Woliński, "Nanoparticles-enhanced photonic liquid crystal fibers", Journal of Molecular Liquids, 267, 271-278, (2018) CrossRef


2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32
Author(s):  
Pho Thi Nguyet Hang ◽  
Pham Thuy Dung

The tensor solution for the electromagnetic wave being in quadrature with the surface of the cholesteric liquid crystal under the influence of the external electric field along axis of swing of crystal, has been found. Description of the reflection, transmission of the electromagnetic wave in multilayer structures composed from cholesteric liquid crystals have been shown. Futher the dependence of the reflection spectrum on the polarization of the incident beam and magnitude of the external electric field are determined.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 4705-4717
Author(s):  
Zhang Qian ◽  
Zhou Xuan ◽  
Zhang Zhidong

Basing on Landau–de Gennes theory, this study investigated the chiral configurations of nematic liquid crystals confined to cylindrical capillaries with homeotropic anchoring on the cylinder walls. When the elastic anisotropy (L2/L1) is large enough, a new structure results from the convergence of two opposite escape directions of the heterochiral twist and escape radial (TER) configurations. The new defect presents when L2/L1≥7 and disappears when L2/L1<7. The new structure possesses a heterochiral hyperbolic defect at the center and two homochiral radial defects on both sides. The two radial defects show different chiralities.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document