Interaction of Liquid Crystals with Inhomogeneous Surfaces.
Abstract
We undertook the study of the interaction of nematic liquid crystals with inhomogeneous solid surfaces, in the attempt to better understand surface interactions and to fabricate new kinds of devices with novel surface alignment techniques. Along with the surface studies, we considered the optic properties of the new liquid crystal configurations we were attempting to fabricate, and new electro-optical effects that might be achieved. The new surface treatments that we investigated were ones consisting of a microscopically inhomogeneous array of different aligning agents. The cases studied in detail were that of a surface which aligns the nematic director perpendicular to itself, on which we created a random array of spots, a few hundred angstroms in diameter, in which the director is parallel to the surface, and the inverse, i.e., spots of vertical alignment on a horizontal aligning surface. Keywords include: Liquid crystals, Surface properties, Nematic liquid crystals, and Optical properties.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA151557
Entities
People
- R. B. Meyer
Organizations
- Brandeis University