用于电响应红外反射窗的液晶聚合物薄膜特性研究

提出了一种红外反射器件,通过载体液晶在电场下的转向控制胆甾型液晶聚合物粒子在器件中的排布方向,实现红外反射与透射之间切换.其中,胆甾型液晶聚合物粒子是实现红外反射关键.介绍了胆甾型液晶聚合物薄膜的制备方法,并采用超声波破碎的方法制备液晶粒子.研究了液晶混合物中不同比例的交联剂液晶1对液晶聚合物薄膜脆性和反射波段的影响,发现当液晶1占100%时,液晶聚合物薄膜的脆性最大,且其清亮点最高,并且薄膜的反射波段随着液晶1比例的增加而向短波方向偏移.同时,研究了薄膜厚度对液晶聚合物粒子的影响,发现液晶薄膜厚度越小,制备的液晶聚合物粒子越小且越均匀,其制成的器件电驱动性更好.该研究有利于帮助电响应红外反射窗的性能优化.     

Light-induced instabilities driven by competing helical patterns in long-pitch cholesterics

We study theoretically the dynamical reorientation phenomena when a long-pitch cholesteric liquid-crystal film with homeotropic alignment is illuminated by a circularly polarized lightwave. In the present case, the natural cholesteric pitch is of the order of (or larger than) the film thickness. The helical cholesteric structure is thus frustrated by the boundary conditions without illumination. However, above a light intensity threshold reorientation occurs and the bifurcation scenario depends strongly on the natural cholesteric pitch. Recalling that a long-pitch cholesteric is achieved in practice by adding a small amount of chiral agents in a nematic liquid crystal, the observed dynamics can be viewed as the result of the competition between intrinsic and extrinsic unidimensional helical patterns. The intrinsic part consists of the helical deformations induced by the chirality of the dopant, whereas the extrinsic part is related to the chirality induced by the optical field through the non-uniform angular momentum transfer of light to a nematic. The all-optical analog in the case of a pure nematic (without chiral dopant), is also discussed.     

横向电场对平面织构胆甾相液晶螺距及反射特性的影响

阐述一种理论模型,讨论共面转换（IPS）模式下横向电场对平面织构胆甾相液晶螺距及扭曲角的影响．利用琼斯矩阵法计算了光正入射情况下未加电场时胆甾相液晶的反射谱．在上述模型基础上,计算了施加电场后胆甾相液晶的反射峰值波长以及反射带宽随场强的变化关系．探讨了忽略锚定与强锚定两种边界条件下横向电场对平面织构胆甾相液晶螺距及反射特性的影响．所得结论在理论上证实：共面转换模式下电场可以调谐胆甾相液晶的反射光颜色,从而为基于电控螺距原理的胆甾相液晶反射式彩色显示方案提供了理论上的依据． 关键词： 胆甾相液晶 电控螺距 共面转换 琼斯矩阵法     

Investigation of thermal influence on the bandgap properties of liquid-crystal photonic crystal fibers

We have analyzed the thermal influence on the bandgap properties of liquid-crystal photonic crystal fibers. The bandgap parameters which affect the transmission conditions have been investigated. It is observed that the photonic bandgap can be thermally tuned, i.e. the red or blue shift of the bandgap results from the temperature dependence of the refractive index of the liquid crystal. For the planar alignment of liquid-crystal filled cladding, the ordinary refractive index plays a major role in determining the bandgap properties; the extraordinary refractive index comes into influence while the ordinary refractive index is relatively constant of temperature. The analyses agree well with the experiments results.     

胆甾相和蓝相液晶的透射和反射特性

针对蓝相液晶显示器中的暗态漏光特性, 采用时域有限差分方法模拟计算了胆甾相液晶的平面态和焦锥态以及蓝相II态液晶的透射和反射特性, 得到了它们在正交和平行偏振片之间的漏光, 并提出了计算等效旋光能力的公式以比较它们的旋光能力. 通过对比焦锥态和蓝相液晶的旋光能力和漏光特性发现, 采用焦锥态替代蓝相液晶而得到良好的暗态特性是一种可行的方法. 通过研究它们的布拉格反射特性, 得知蓝相液晶的布拉格反射与平面态相似, 但反射强度小, 焦锥态无明显的布拉格反射特性.     

Rare-earth-cation-induced change in the cholesteric twisting of neighboring nucleic acid molecules

Certain physicochemical characteristics of particles of the cholesteric liquid-crystal dispersions of complexes of double-stranded nucleic acids with rare earth elements have been determined. It is shown for the first time that the binding of the rare earth cations to linear nucleic acid molecules ordered in the structure of particles of the cholesteric liquid crystal dispersions is accompanied not only by amplification of the abnormal band in the circular dichroism spectrum, but also by the disappearance of the characteristic maximum on the X-ray scattering curves for small angles. The (cholesteric 1-cholesteric 2) transition induced by rare earth cations is an example of the operation of a microscopic machine consisting of spatially ordered nucleic acid molecules. Particles of the cholesteric liquid crystal dispersions of nucleic acid complexes with rare earth elements hold the abnormal optical properties for a long time.     

Angular tuning of defect modes spectrum in the one-dimensional photonic crystal with liquid-crystal layer

A one-dimensional ZrO₂/SiO₂ photonic crystal with a 4-n -pentyl-4' -cyanobiphenyl (5CB) nematic defect layer was used to investigate the transmission spectra of light polarized parallel and perpendicular to the liquid-crystal director at different angles of incidence. The spectra of the photonic crystal were shown to split into four polarized components T_ij at oblique incidence. When the incident angle increased, the bandgap edges and the defect modes shifted towards short wavelengths, while the amplitudes of the defect modes increased for the transverse magnetic polarization and decreased for the transverse electric polarization. The observed discrepancy between the defect mode amplitudes in the center and near the edges of the photonic bandgap was found to be related to the radiation losses inside the defect layer of a non-ideal photonic crystal. The simulated transmission spectra obtained using recurrence relations and taking into account the decay of defect modes are in good agreement with the experimental data.     

On the design of a Nd doped silica fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal mirror

We report operation of a Nd³⁺-doped fiber-laser using a cholesteric liquid crystal acting as a narrow band reflector. The aim of this work is to apply to a fiber-laser the particular optical properties of an helical structure, whatever is the medium exhibiting this structure, either a liquid crystal or either any other material. The advantage of the use of these mediums in the design of fiber-lasers is that they can favourably take the place, in an easy and compact way, of several optical elements such as a polarizer and a quarter-wave plate at one and the same time. This technology promises to design rugged compact low cost tunable coherent sources the lasing range of which can easily be adjusted. We emphasize here the particular part played by the cholesteric liquid crystal-glass interface in the laser action of the fiber. Received 21 October 1999 and Received in final form 7 February 2000     

Lasing in liquid crystal thin films

A lasing condition is formulated in matrix form for optically anisotropic thin films. Lasing behavior of liquid-crystal slabs is analyzed. In particular, it is shown that if the spatial extent of a liquid crystal slab is much larger than its thickness, then laser emission is feasible not only along the normal to the slab, but also in the entire angular sector. The generated laser light can be observed experimentally as a spot or as concentric rings on a screen. The lowest lasing threshold corresponds to in-plane sliding modes leaking into the substrate. The feedback required for lasing is provided by reflection from the interfaces, rather than edges, of the liquid-crystal slab operating as a planar Fabry-Perot cavity. For cholesteric liquid crystals, it is shown that energy loss to the sliding modes leaking into the substrates and escaping through their edges is a key factor that limits the efficiency of band-edge emission along the normal to the slab.     

胆甾相液晶温控旋光色散特性的研究

胆甾相液晶的螺距易受温度和电压的影响,螺距变化时,胆甾相液晶的旋光色散特性发生相应的变化。实验证明:温度对胆甾相液晶旋光色散特性的影响与所对应的波长范围有关,在不同的波长范围内,温度对其旋光色散特性的影响规律不同;温度对胆甾相液晶旋光色散特性的影响还与所测试的波长离该温度下选择反射波带的远近有关,离选择反射波带越近,温度对其旋光色散特性的影响越大。实验表明:温度变化时,胆甾相液晶的旋光色散特性的变化是偏振透射谱移动的一个重要原因。     

Novel approach to study liquid crystal phase transitions using Legendre moments

A novel approach is proposed to investigate the phase transitions of cholesteric liquid crystals using the Legendre moments. The textures of cholesteric liquid crystals (cholesteryl butyrate, cholesteryl n-valerate, cholesteryl decanoate, and cholesteryl myristate) are captured as a function of temperature using high-resolution camera attached to the arthroscopic mode of polarizing optical microscope with hot stage. A recurrence formula is used to compute the Legendre moments of the liquid crystal textures based on the Legendre polynomial using MATLAB software. The abrupt change in the values of Legendre moments as a function of temperature gives the phase transitions of liquid crystals. The investigated transition temperatures of cholesteric liquid crystals are compared with other techniques.     

新型驱动原理及低电压反射式双稳胆甾型液晶显示器的实验实现

通过对液晶材料参量、液晶盒结构的优化,本文研制了一种低电压驱动反射式双稳胆甾型液晶显示器.在此基础上提出了一种新型驱动方法,通过首先将液晶显示器所有像素从平面态刷新到焦锥态,可用普通的被动式矩阵驱动器件实现1ms快速驱动,新的驱动方法不存在光学延迟.     

复指数矩阵法研究螺旋液晶光学传播特性

提出一种研究螺旋液晶光学特性的数学处理方法.螺旋型液晶可当作N层双折射材料晶片叠合而成,而相邻晶片的光轴依次旋转一个小角度.在光学转换矩阵中引入复数来研究螺旋型液晶光学性能,给出了相关的数学处理方法.研究了线性偏振光在螺旋液晶中的传播特性,并给出了光经过螺旋液晶后电场强度的矩阵表达式.研究发现,如果入射光波长等于螺旋液晶螺距,线偏振光经过右螺旋液晶后是左旋圆偏振光.理论上分析了螺旋液晶对可见光选择性反射机理.     

基于亚波长光栅结构的硅基液晶器件模型研究

金(Au)亚波长光栅被溅射到经典硅基液晶(LCoS)的ITO电极上,它与薄液晶盒和底层铝电极组成复合共振波导结构,简称GLCoS。与基于液晶传播效应的LCoS截然不同,在GLCoS中,上电极的表面等离激元与光栅槽中的TM-FP (TM-Fabry Pérot)共振耦合,诱导一个0阶反射的相位调制;铝(Al)电极既是反射背板又与Au光栅、薄液晶盒组成波导,使共振耦合得到增强。在操控光波阵面的同时,GLCoS也作为电控器件,施加电压改变液晶的折射率,进而控制开腔FP的边缘介质条件,达到有源0~2π相位调制。实验结果表明,本文结构可用于1μm量级像素的相位空间光调制器,在高空间带宽积的全息视频显示中具有广阔的应用前景。     

Interaction of nucleic acid segments as a result of modification of the network of hydrogen bonds of the solvent

It is shown that experimental results on the influence of various factors in the formation efficiency and structure of cholesteric liquid-crystal dispersions of nucleic acids cannot be consistently described using conventional theories of liquid crystal formation. A new model is proposed for the interaction of nucleic acid segments which allows for a change in the particular structure of the solvent hydrogen bonds in the presence of nucleic acid molecules. The conclusions of the model agree with existing spectroscopic and structural investigations of DNA dispersions. According to our model, interaction between nucleic acid molecules and solvent modifies proton tunneling processes in the latter, leading to effective interaction between the nucleic acids. A theoretical analysis of the model is made using a pseudospin formalism in which the effective interaction potential of the nucleic acid segments is calculated. It is shown that this potential may lead to nematic ordering for small distances between the nucleic acid molecules (R ≤ 30 Å) and cholesteric ordering for large distances.     

Natural optical activity and liquid crystals

Optical activity of matter is related to the chirality of its constitutive molecules. In liquid crystals, chiral molecules can give rise to superstructures in which the local dielectric tensor rotates in space describing a helix, a fact which greatly enhances the optical activity of the medium. The structures and the optical properties of some helical phases are well-known, as for instance the cholesteric and some chiral smectic phases. For short enough helix pitches, the periodic medium can be considered optically as homogeneous and described by the same constitutive equations used to define the optical properties of solid crystals. Such liquid crystal phases represent an ideal tool to apply the methods, used since a long time in optics, to define homogeneous models for non homogeneous media and to discuss their limits of validity. A brief account is given of the main results recently found in this research area.     

复合周期的介质-液晶光子晶体研究

本文研究了掺入各向同性周期性介质层缺陷的一维复合周期胆甾型液晶光子晶体的禁带特性.发现同一般的胆甾型液晶不同,复合介质-液晶周期结构对左旋偏振入射光和右旋入射光都会出现共同禁带.当各向同性介质层占一个周期的厚度比例越小,左旋偏振光的禁带效应逐渐消失,而右旋偏振光的禁带则逐渐合并变大;且各向同性介质的折射率越大,则两种偏振光的禁带效应越明显,更容易出现共同禁带;通过调整厚度比,可以在可见光范围内出现对应红、绿、蓝色波长的禁带,从而可以用于液晶显示的反射式彩色滤光片. 关键词： 胆甾型液晶 光子晶体 禁带 缺陷     

Infiltrated Liquid Crystal Photonic Bandgap Devices for Switching and Tunable Filtering

In this article the possibility of obtaining a tunable bandgap by using infiltrated liquid crystal photonic bandgap structures is explored. In particular, by exploiting the electrooptic effect and the electroclinic effect, peculiar to two different kinds of liquid crystals, the switching and tunable filtering operation of a three-dimensional photonic crystal has been analyzed by means of a differential method combined with an S-matrix algorithm.     

Infiltrated Liquid Crystal Photonic Bandgap Devices for Switching and Tunable Filtering

In this article the possibility of obtaining a tunable bandgap by using infiltrated liquid crystal photonic bandgap structures is explored. In particular, by exploiting the electrooptic effect and the electroclinic effect, peculiar to two different kinds of liquid crystals, the switching and tunable filtering operation of a three-dimensional photonic crystal has been analyzed by means of a differential method combined with an S-matrix algorithm.     

Frustrated structure of an anticlinic-like smectic-C phase

We present a polarising optical microscopy study of the low-temperature anticlinic-like tilted mesophase of the liquid-crystal compound octylphenyl-2-chloro-4-(p-cyano-benzoyloxy) (DB₈Cl). This mesophase has been described as a bilayer smectic structure in which the molecules within each layer are organised in an anticlinic way. The optical textures observed in samples with planar orientation show a double stripe pattern, with the lines aligned parallel to the rubbing direction, characteristic of a double periodic modulation of the refractive index of the material. The long-period modulation is temperature dependent and disappears for thin sample cells (< 5μm). The short-period modulation is nearly independent of the thickness of the cells. The experimental results are analysed in terms of a model which considers that there is a special distribution of the principal optical axis which may be in or out of the polariser-analyser plane. The observed periodic variation of the principal optical axis could not be interpreted in terms of the original structure proposed for this phase. DB₈Cl presents a structure formed by dimers that can be viewed as flexible bent-core-like molecules, showing similarities with phases found in banana-like systems, but exhibiting a much more complex structure.