| Abstract: | Recently we observed an unusual temperature dependence of the pretilt angle of a nematic liquid crystal generated at the rubbed surface of a side group liquid crystalline polymer film. To understand the mechanism, a detailed investigation of the temperature effect on the rubbing-induced optical phase retardation of a side group liquid crystalline polymer film has been carried out. On heating the film above the glass transition temperature of the polymer, a clear change is seen in the temperature dependence of the optical phase retardation. We infer from this investigation that the thermal variation of the rubbing-induced optical phase retardation results in a change in the temperature variation of the pretilt angle. |
