Orientation Patterns in Nematic Liquid Crystal

Order reconstruction patterns in nematic liquid crystal wells

We numerically study structural transitions inside shallow nanoscale wells with square cross-section, filled with nematic liquid crystal material. We model the wells within the Landau-de Gennes theory for nematic liquid crystals, in the absence of any external fields. We obtain two qualitatively different states: (i) the DSD state for relatively large wells with lateral dimension greater than a...

Patterns of electroconvection in a nematic liquid crystal

We present a survey of pattern formation in electroconvection of the nematic liquid crystal 4-ethyl-2fluoro-4 8-[2-(trans-4-pentylcyclohexyl)-ethyl] biphenyl ~I52! as a function of three control parameters: the applied voltage, applied frequency, and electrical conductivity of the sample. The patterns are dominated by oblique-roll states. Over the lower range of conductivity, the initial transi...

Nematic Liquid-Crystal Colloids

This article provides a concise review of a new state of colloidal matter called nematic liquid-crystal colloids. These colloids are obtained by dispersing microparticles of different shapes in a nematic liquid crystal that acts as a solvent for the dispersed particles. The microparticles induce a local deformation of the liquid crystal, which then generates topological defects and long-range f...

Liquid Crystal Orientation on Patterns Etched in Silicon-on-Insulator

Liquid Crystals have many applications in photonics, but often the geometrical properties of the photonic structures give problems for controlling the alignment of the liquid crystal. We demonstrate the effect on the orientation of a nematic liquid crystal by structures etched in Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) wafers, produced by photolithography. We characterize the alignment effect of several pat...

Threshold Flexoelectric Effect in Nematic Liquid Crystal