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Alignment materials with controllable anchoring energy |
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| Authors: | Veronika Bezruchenko Alexander Muravsky Anatoli Murauski Alexander Stankevich Uladzimir Mahilny |
| Affiliation: | 1. Institute of Chemistry of New Materials NAS of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus;2. Physical Department of Belarusian State University, Minsk, Belarus |
| Abstract: | New polymers with photo‐controllable anchoring energy and tunable pretilt angle within 90°–0° range for nematic liquid crystals alignment were developed. The functional properties of polymers are provided by the effect of photoinduced planar alignment and the presence of side hydrocarbon chains in macromolecules that create a homeotropic alignment effect. Applying photosensitive alignment layers based on polymers with side benzaldehyde and hydrocarbon groups, fabrication of optical devices with refractive index gradient, uniform cell gap, and low operation voltage is possible. The developed materials are suitable for simple fabrication of tunable liquid crystal lenses. |
| Keywords: | liquid crystal lens gradient alignment layer photocrosslinking benzaldehyde polymers polar anchoring energy azimuthal anchoring energy pretilt angle |