Liquid crystal alignment properties of 2-naphthoxymethyl-substituted polystyrenes

The liquid crystal (LC) alignment properties of LC cells fabricated with films of 2-naphthoxymethyl-substituted polystyrenes with different contents of naphthoxymethyl side groups were investigated. The polymer films exhibited good optical transparency in the visible light region (400–700 nm). The LC cells made from the unrubbed films of polymers having more than 57 mol%?of 2-naphthoxymethyl containing monomeric units showed homeotropic LC alignment with a high pretilt angle of about 90^o. Good electro-optical characteristics, such as the threshold voltage, response time, voltage holding ratio and residual DC voltage were observed for the LC cells fabricated with the polymer having 100 mol%?of 2-naphthoxymethyl containing monomeric units as an LC alignment layer.     

Synthesis and properties of novel 1,1‐difluoropropoxy‐linked liquid crystalline compounds of negative dielectric anisotropy

A series of liquid crystalline compounds having the difluoropropyleneoxy moiety (–OCF₂C₂H₄–) as a linking group has been synthesized. The physical properties, i.e. dielectric anisotropy, birefringence, viscosity and phase transition temperatures, have been measured. This novel class of compounds shows a larger negative dielectric anisotropy than the corresponding compounds having a propyleneoxy (–OC₃H₆–) linking group. Their dielectric properties may be explained by the combined effect of fluorine atoms with large electron negativities and the electron donating feature of an oxygen atom substituted on the same carbon atom. The semi‐empirical quantum calculation method (AM1) also confirmed this dielectric behaviour of the difluoropropyleneoxy linkage group.     

A small-angle X-ray scattering study of nanoparticle assembly in an aligned nematic liquid crystal

The assembly of colloidal particles in a nematic liquid crystal has been investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering. The structure and orientation of nanoparticle assemblies in bulk samples of aligned nematic liquid crystal have been determined. The method offers some advantages over optical microscopy, which is usually restricted to investigations of thin cells and micron-sized particles. The scattering from chains of particles has been calculated, and comparison with experimental results has shown that suspensions of 48 and 105 nm diameter silica nanoparticles formed highly ordered structures perpendicular to the liquid crystal director, consistent with quadrupolar defect-induced assembly.     

Controllable alignment of liquid crystals based on the surface relief gratings from a photocross-linkable organic monomer

The orientational control of liquid crystal (LC) molecules is essential for high-quality liquid crystal displays, and the photo-induced surface relief grating (SRG) is a facile and effective non-contact process. Here, SRGs with different period and depth were prepared with a photocross-linkable organic monomer 4-propyldiphenylacetylenecarboxylic acid cinnamyl ester (PDACE), and the LC alignment induced by SRG was studied. It is found that both the surface topography and the chemical nature of the surface are responsible for the LC alignment, which is strongly dependent on the groove geometry of the gratings. Furthermore, the patterned LC cell was fabricated with the patterned SRG surface. These results demonstrate that the planar, perpendicular and patterned orientations of LC can be easily photo-controllably obtained with PDACE, which have important applications in optical devices.     

Self-constructed stable liquid crystal alignment in a monomer-liquid crystal mixture system

Here, we demonstrate excellent liquid crystal (LC) vertical alignment without using an alignment layer printing process by introducing octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) into the LC mixture. Further, we investigated the alignment mechanism by analysing the surfaces of the substrates. The optimum concentration of OTS was found to be about 0.03 wt%, which is 1/100 of that in the previously reported polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)–LC system. Moreover, the OTS–LC system exhibited a more stable LC alignment compared with the POSS–LC system. These differences may arise from the different strengths of surface–dopant interactions; that is, the covalent bond in the OTS–LC system and the van der Waals interactions in the POSS–LC system. We also demonstrated that the method can be used in a capillary tube, which may serve as a new method facilitating the application of LCs with curved surfaces.     

Comparisons of the vector method and tensor method for simulating liquid crystal devices

In calculating the director configuration in a liquid crystal device, two methods are commonly employed: a vector model and a tensor model. In this paper, we compare and contrast these methods for liquid crystal devices consisting of a layer of liquid crystal sandwiched between two plates. We compare the reliability and accuracy of the results, the speed of computation and the complexity of implementations of each method.     

A study of the transition of liquid-crystal alignment from homeotropic to planar on a polyimide layer

The alignment of nematic liquid crystals by rubbed polyimide surfaces has been well-studied and developed. A novel polyimide film which induced a homeotropic alignment of the nematic liquid crystal without rubbing or with weak rubbing strength was presented. However, there was a transition from homeotropic to planar alignment of the nematic liquid crystal after strong rubbing. In order to study the transition, the polyimide surface was investigated by atomic force microscopy, surface free energy measurement and angle-resolved analysis X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy before and after rubbing with a velvet fabric. It was found that both the change of surface polarity and surface morphology were not the reasons for the transition. The droop of the side chain on the polyimide surface after the rubbing treatment was detected by angle-resolved analysis X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy. Owing to the special structure of the novel polyimide, the X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy was successfully used for the first time to analyse the conformational change of the side chain of a polymer. In conclusion, the transition of nematic liquid crystal alignment from homeotropic to planar after rubbing was influenced by the side chain conformation of the polyimide.     

Investigation on ion movement in the fringe-field switching mode depending on resistivity of alignment layer and dielectric anisotropic sign of liquid crystal

Adsorption and desorption of ions at interface between liquid crystal and alignment layer in liquid crystal displays play a crucial role in residual direct current voltage associated with image sticking. In this article, the dependency of such adsorption and desorption of ions on resistivity of alignment layer and sign of liquid crystal dielectric anisotropy in the fringe-field liquid crystal cell has been investigated. Our studies show that the time constant of ions during adsorption and desorption depends upon resistivity and dielectric constant of liquid crystal and alignment layer, and most strongly influenced by the resistivity of alignment layer such that the one with lower resistivity in two orders shows much faster adsorption and desorption at the interface than that of the one with higher resistivity.     

Ferroelectric liquid crystals from banana-shaped achiral molecules with vinyl end groups

Banana-shaped achiral compounds, the 1,3-phenylene bis[4-(alkenyloxyphenyliminomethyl)benzoate]s, were synthesized with varying length of the alkenyl group; their ferroelectric properties are described. The smectic mesophases, including a switchable chiral smectic C (SmC*) phase, were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscopy and the triangular wave method. The presence of vinyl groups at the ends of the linear side-wings in the banana-shaped achiral molecules, containing a Schiff's base mesogen, induced a decrease in melting temperature and formation of the switchable SmC* phase in the melt. The compound having the octenyloxy group exhibited a spontaneous polarization of 120 nC cm^?2 on reversal of an applied electric field.     

光谱偏振调制器的高精度装调方法

为了提高光谱偏振调制器的探测精度,提出了光谱偏振调制器的高精度装调方法。首先,分析了光谱偏振调制器的调制原理,提出了采用三片多级相位延迟器加线偏振器的装调方案;然后,建立了调制器装调的数理模型,设计了校准多级相位延迟器的厚度;最后,对成像过程进行了计算机仿真实验验证,并模拟了成像系统的装调过程。结果表明:利用该方法能够灵敏检测偏振器件间的微小相对旋转角度误差,可实现调制器的高精度装调,在输入本文设定的校准光谱条件下,绝对精度可达0.2°。该方法保留了传统光谱调制器充分利用通道带宽的优势,保证了复原光谱的分辨率,为强度调制型光谱偏振成像系统的精密装调提供了一定的理论参考。