MAXWELL STRESS INDUCED FLOW-DEFORMATION AND OPTICAL NONLINEARITIES IN LIQUID CRYSTALS (Invited Paper)

Deformation–induced orientational transitions in liquid crystals elastomer

Solid liquid crystals, formed by crosslinking polymeric nematics into elastomers are shown to display novel and complex elasticity. The internal (nematic) direction can experience a barrier to its rotation which couples to standard elasticity. We investigate this elasticity by considering imposed strains and demonstrate several new orientational phase transitions, caused by the interaction betw...

Multiple Time Scales Optical Nonlinearities of Liquid Crystals for Optical-Terahertz-Microwave Applications

We provide a critical account of the dynamics of laser induced refractive index changing mechanisms in nematic liquid crystals which may be useful for all-optical switching and modulation applications in the visible as well as the Terahertz and long-wavelength regime. In particular, the magnitude and response times of optical Kerr effects associated with director axis reorientation, thermal and...

Flow induced Grandjean lines in cholesteric liquid crystals

2014 Regularly spaced singular lines appear when a cholesteric liquid crystal flows between glass plates inclined at a small wedge angle and remain after the flow ceases. The glass plates are treated to give homeotropic pinning at the surfaces, but the flow effectively creates a region of soft homogeneous pinning slightly away from the surfaces, thus simulating the conditions for development of...

Universal Gigabit Optical Access (Invited Paper)

We review the imperatives on the optical communication technology industry to realize universal ultra high speed access to the world‟s information. OCIS codes: (060.2330) Fiber optics communications; (060.4250) Networks

Temperature and strain-rate dependence of the flow stress of tantalum single crystals in cyclic deformation