Investigation of the liquid crystal alignment layer: effect on electrical properties

Abstract

We investigate the electrical behavior of a symmetric liquid crystal (LC) cell: elecrode-silane-LC-silane-electrode. The silane (chlorodimethyloctadecyl-silane) layer induces a homeotropic orientation of the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) molecules. The wettability technique is used to detect the change of the surface energy of the electrode upon cleaning and silane layer deposition. We report on the dynamic impedance measurements of the nematic liquid crystal cell. It is found that the silane alignment layer has a blocking effect on the liquid crystal (LC) cell. We also study the relaxation behavior of the cell which is later assimilated as an electrical equivalent circuit.     

Dynamic characteristics of dual-frequency nematic liquid crystal with quasi-homeotropic twist structure

Dynamic characteristics of a liquid crystal (LC) cell with a quasi-homeotropic twist structure formed in a dual-frequency nematic liquid crystal (DFNLC) layer with the director pretilt angle increased to 60° have been experimentally studied. The cell was switched from the off to on state using a 30-kHz electric field, while the reverse (off/on) switching was effected by a 1-kHz field. An increase in the director pretilt angle allowed the switch-on time of a 6.4-μm-thick DFNLC cell to be reduced to 1 ms and the relaxation (switch-off) time, to 0.5 ms.     

Interplay of surface effects in a thin nematic liquid crystal layer

Manifestations of the competition of surface effects in a thin nematic liquid crystal (LC) layer are considered. It is shown that the LC director field lines remain straight irrespective of the preferred anchoring angles at the LC boundary surfaces. The angle between the director field lines and the plane of the LC layer depends on these preferred anchoring angles and on the Rapini-Papoular energy ratio at the boundary surfaces. There are two possible director orientations differing by 90°. Switching between these states can be induced by chemical factors or by external fields. In contrast to the well-known Fréedericksz transition, the work required for such switching is partly performed by the competing surfaces. Hence, the LC layer switching only requires overcoming the difference between the Rapini-Papoular energies, which can be rendered small by properly selecting LC-substrate pairs.     

Linear size gradient single layers of polymer-dispersed liquid crystal micrometer-sized droplets for diffractive optics

An experimental study of coherent light diffraction by wedge-formed single layers composed of liquid crystal (LC) micro-sized droplets dispersed in a transparent solid polymer matrix is reported. The micrometer-sized polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) material contains prolate-ellipsoid-like LC droplets with a linear-gradient size distribution along the wedge slope. The droplet diameter in the films reaches several tens of micrometers, defined by the wedge. Such a droplet organization in a two-dimensional layer provides both spatial and electrical control of the coherent light diffraction by the LC/polymer interface.     

Fast and high-contrast liquid-crystal shutters with low power consumption based on an optical-mode-interference cell

Three electro-optical modes of nematic liquid crystal (LC) were investigated as applications for LC shutters: the waveguide mode (TN), optical mode interference (OMI), and supertwist nematic (STN). The characteristics of the three modes under dynamic driving were simulated by solving the Ericksen-Leslie hydrodynamic equations numerically. Prototypes of the three types of LC were fabricated for verification. The experimental data show good coincidence with the simulation results. Among the three LC modes, the OMI was found to have the greatest potential for LC shutter applications. The prototype that used the OMI mode showed high contrast, fast response times, low power consumption owing to the pseudomemory effect under an optimal driving scheme, and a low optical retardation of the LC cell.     

Magnetic-field-assisted formation of alignment polymer coatings in liquid crystal cells

We describe a new method for obtaining liquid crystal (LC) layers with planar orientation in plane-parallel cells, which is based on the technology of LC-polymer interface formation in solution under the action of an applied magnetic field. The azimuthal anchoring energy of LC at the polymer surface has been determined by measuring the angle of orientation of the nematic LC director on the substrate surface as a function of the magnetic field. The LC orientation provided by the proposed method is stable, and the anisotropy of LC anchoring is comparable with that achieved using well-known methods of alignment polymer film preparation by rubbing.     

The dynamics of the response of an electro-optic cell based on a nematic layer with controlled surface anchoring

We investigate the electrooptical characteristics of a cell based on a nematic liquid crystal layer controlled with the use of modification of the surface anchoring by an ionic surfactant. The inverse mode of the effect is used with the nematic oriented homeotropically in the initial state and transferring to the hybrid homeoplanar structure in an applied dc electric field. We consider the applied voltage dependences of the dynamic parameters of the optical response.     

Artificial muscles based on liquid crystal elastomers

This paper presents our results on liquid crystal (LC) elastomers as artificial muscle, based on the ideas proposed by de Gennes. In the theoretical model, the material consists of a repeated series of main-chain nematic LC polymer blocks, N, and conventional rubber blocks, R, based on the lamellar phase of a triblock copolymer RNR. The motor for the contraction is the reversible macromolecular shape change of the chain, from stretched to spherical, that occurs at the nematic-to-isotropic phase transition in the main-chain nematic LC polymers.We first developed a new kind of muscle-like material based on a network of side-on nematic LC homopolymers. Side-on LC polymers were used instead of main-chain LC polymers for synthetic reasons. The first example of these materials was thermo-responsive, with a typical contraction of around 35-45% and a generated force of around 210 kPa. Subsequently, a photo-responsive material was developed, with a fast photochemically induced contraction of around 20%, triggered by UV light.We then succeeded in preparing a thermo-responsive artificial muscle, RNR, with lamellar structure, using a side-on nematic LC polymer as N block.Micrometre-sized artificial muscles were also prepared. This paper illustrates the bottom-up design of stimuli-responsive materials, in which the overall material response reflects the individual macromolecular response, using LC polymer as building block.     

Simple way for achieving passive all-optical switching of continuous waves lasers using pure nematic liquid crystal

We have examined pure nematic liquid crystal (LC), 4'-pentyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5-CB), with a 90° twisted alignment within a cell made of two cross-polarized absorptive plastic polarizers, and investigated the nonlinear transmission properties using cw (532 nm) lasers. We observed optically self-activated polarization switching with a factor of three lower switching power than a dye-doped LC cell with similar linear transmittance using glass substrates. We also studied the dynamics of the switching processes and observed millisecond switching time. These studies have demonstrated a simpler but more efficient way for fabricating broadband, low switching power, millisecond time scale switching, and optical limiting devices.     

Optical and electrical characterization of a gold nanoparticle dispersion in a chiral liquid crystal matrix

We report on the effect of gold nanoparticle (Au NP) dispersion in a chiral nematic liquid crystal (LC). Polarized optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements evidence the insurgence of an order change in the LC host. Moreover, a comparative analysis based on dielectric and voltammetric spectroscopies performed on pure LC and on Au NP-doped LC shows that Au NP’s presence besides affecting LC order influences its electric properties: ion conductivity results importantly reduced, and beyond a threshold value of the applied field electrophoresis phenomena are induced.     

Polarization-dependent circular Dammann grating made of azo-dye-doped liquid crystals

A polarization-dependent circular Dammann grating (CDG) was generated from an azo-dye-doped liquid crystal (LC) cell. A simple multiexposure photo-alignment process was used to fabricate a binary phase LC CDG zone plane, which was composed of an odd zone with a twisted nematic LC structure and an even zone with a homogenous LC structure. A two-order CDG with equal-intensity rings was produced through a Fourier transform. The maximum zeroth and first diffraction orders of obtained CDG can be separately achieved by rotating the analyzer's polarization direction. The CDG using an azo-dye-doped LC cell can be used to generate diffractions by lasers in a broad wavelength range, hence expanding possible device applications.     

Screening effect of a-C:H alignment layer in nematic liquid crystal cell

The electrical and optical characteristics of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cells and their dependence on the thickness of an amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) alignment layer have been studied. An increase in the a-C:H layer thickness favors enhancement of the screening of a bias voltage applied to this layer, which is manifested by an increase in the threshold voltage of the electrooptical splay effect. This is accompanied by a decrease in the initial (pretilt) director angle, which is evidence for an increase in the anchoring energy due to the field of space charge localized at the interface.     

Simple method for the determination of refractive indices and loss parameters for liquid-crystal materials in the millimeter-wave region

A reflection-type liquid crystal (LC) test cell is prepared with a rectangular waveguide for investigation of a novel method to determine refractive indices and loss parameters of nematic liquid-crystal materials. As the bottom of the test cell is sealed with a glass window and the top of the cell is capped with a metal-tipped movable reflector after the LC materials are injected, both ends of the waveguide test cell have large reflectance. Thus the reflection properties of the LC test cell can be well described by a multiple-beam interference model. A simple method for the determination of refractive indices from the reflection measurement data is proposed based on results of some investigations with the theoretical model. Commercially available LC materials have been measured with this method at a millimeter-wave frequency (50 GHz) by use of a simple experimental setup with a Gunn oscillator and a diode detector.     

A random laser made of nematic liquid crystal doped with a laser dye

We report on random laser emission obtained in 5CB and E7 nematic liquid crystal (LC) mixtures doped with 1% weight to weight ratio of DCM laser dye. The LC cell was used as asymmetric planar waveguide were emission was collected from the edge of the sample. Variable stripe length method was utilized to estimate the gain and the losses coefficients. Both systems have shown the threshold energy fluence in order of several mJ/cm². In both cases above Fredericks potential, significant increase of emission intensity was observed due to the increase of light scattering on liquid crystalline domains. Moreover the use of fifth order of diffraction grating covered with thin alumina film resulted in strong multimode and directional laser emission.     

Liquid-crystal microlens with a beam-steering function

A novel beam-steering device that makes use of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) is proposed and demonstrated. The beam-steering function is attained with a LC microlens with a divided hole-patterned electrode structure (DE-LC microlens). Optical properties of the DE-LC microlens are investigated and three-dimensional variable-focusing and beam-steering properties are verified experimentally for the first time, to our knowledge.     

Improvement in device performance from a mixture of a liquid crystal and photosensitive acrylic prepolymer with the photoinduced vertical alignment method

In a multicomponent nematic liquid crystal (NLC) mixture of a liquid crystal (negative-type NLC) and a photosensitive acrylic prepolymer, photopolymerization upon UV irradiation induces the separation of the LC and photosensitive acrylic prepolymer layers, thereby leading to a vertical arrangement of LC molecules. In this study, we propose a simple vertical alignment method for LC molecules, by adding a chiral smectic A (SmA∗) liquid crystal having homeotropic texture characteristics to an NLC mixture solution. Measurements of electro-optical properties revealed that the addition of the SmA∗ LC not only strengthened the anchoring force of the copolymer alignment film surface, but also significantly enhanced the contrast ratio (∼73%), response time and grayscale switching performance of the device.     

高度支化水性聚氨酯的合成及性能EI

以甲苯-2,4-二异氰酸酯(TDI)、聚碳酸酯二醇(PCDL)、二羟甲基丙酸(DMPA)和聚醚胺(ATA)为原料,采用A2+B3法合成了具有高度支化结构的水性聚氨酯(HBAPU)乳液。用红外光谱(FT-IR)对产物结构进行表征;用光子相关光谱(PCS)研究了乳液的稳定性能,NCO/OH=1.3,w(DMPA)=6%时可以得到稳定的HBAPU乳液;采用旋转黏度计、差式扫描量热仪(DSC)、热失重分析仪(TG)、电子拉力机对产物的流变行为和各种性能进行了测试。结果表明,相对于线性水性聚氨酯(LAPU),HBAPU产物具有较低的黏度、良好的热稳定性、较高的Tg和拉伸强度。     

The effect of fullerene on the temporal characteristics of a nematic liquid crystal-polyaniline-fullerene C60 system

The temporal characteristics of a nematic liquid crystal-polyaniline-fullerene (NLC-PANI-C₆₀) system have been studied with a view to the new field of application of PANI-containing structures: display and optoelectronic technologies. It is shown that the complexation between PANI and fullerene stimulates a transition of the liquid crystal (LC) from the nematic to a smectic phase. The response time of the NLC-PANI-C₆₀ system is two orders of magnitude shorter than that in fullerene-free LC cells of comparable thickness fabricated using the same technology. Thus, the use of fullerenes ensures the transition from the milli-to microsecond range of switching parameters.     

Selectivity of Threefold Symmetry in Epitaxial Alignment of Liquid Crystal Molecules on Macroscale Single‐Crystal Graphene

Epitaxial alignment of organic liquid crystal (LC) molecules on single‐crystal graphene (SCG), an effective epitaxial molecular assembly template, can be used in alignment‐layer‐free liquid crystal displays. However, selectivity among the threefold symmetric easy axes of LCs on graphene is not well understood, which limits its application. Here, sixfold symmetric radial LC domains are demonstrated by dropping an LC droplet on clean SCG, which reveals that the graphene surface does not have an intrinsic preferential direction. Instead, the first contact geometry of the LC molecules determines the direction. Despite its strong anchoring energy on graphene, the LC alignment direction is readily erasable and rewritable, contrary to previous understanding. In addition, the quality of the threefold symmetric alignment is sensitive to alien residue and graphene imperfections, which can be used to detect infinitesimal impurities or structural defects on the graphene. Based on this unique epitaxial behavior of LCs on SCG, an alignment‐layer‐free electro‐optical LC device and LC alignment duplication, which can result in practical graphene‐based flexible LC devices, are realized.     

Improvement in device performance from a mixture of a liquid crystal and photosensitive acrylic prepolymer with the photoinduced vertical alignment method

Abstract

In a multicomponent nematic liquid crystal (NLC) mixture of a liquid crystal (negative-type NLC) and a photosensitive acrylic prepolymer, photopolymerization upon UV irradiation induces the separation of the LC and photosensitive acrylic prepolymer layers, thereby leading to a vertical arrangement of LC molecules. In this study, we propose a simple vertical alignment method for LC molecules, by adding a chiral smectic A (SmA?) liquid crystal having homeotropic texture characteristics to an NLC mixture solution. Measurements of electro-optical properties revealed that the addition of the SmA? LC not only strengthened the anchoring force of the copolymer alignment film surface, but also significantly enhanced the contrast ratio (～73%), response time and grayscale switching performance of the device.