We report on low-voltage, high-contrast amplitude/phase modulators of laser radiation on the basis of microscale polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) single layers providing interference contrast enhancement. The modulators were prepared from liquid crystal (LC) E7 in the solid matrix of UV-cured polymer NOA65. Operating at low voltages, E7/NOA65 single-layered PDLC films of thickness 10–25 ...

Molecular organization at polyimide surfaces used as alignment layers in liquid crystal displays was investigated using vibrational sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy. We focus on the orientation of the long alkyl side groups at the polymer surface using polarization-selected SFG spectra of the CH(3)- and CH(2)-stretch modes of the side chain. Mechanical rubbing and baking, an accepted...

The incremental elimination or hydroxy functionality in an organosolv lignin by ethylalion or acetylation dramatically innuenced the state of miscibility and resulting morphology or blends prepared with hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC). A maximum level of interaction between the blend components, as determined from melting point depression, oa:.urred where 23-40-1. or the hydroxy groups were subst...

A microlens array made of polymer/nanosized polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (nano-PDLC) is demonstrated. The polymer was first patterned into microlens array cavities on a planar substrate and the molded polymer cavities were filled with nano-PDLC material. The nano-PDLC-based microlens is optically transparent. The focal length of the microlens is electrically tunable and the response time is...

A variable optical attenuator (VOA) based on polymer stabilized twisted nematic (PSTN) liquid crystal (LC) is demonstrated. Comparing with the normal twisted nematic LC-based VOA, PSTN exhibits a much faster response time. Moreover, the polymer networks effectively eliminate the backflow effect which exists in the normal TNLC cell. The attenuation mechanism of the PSTN LC was studied. Both pola...

We demonstrate a giant flexoelectro-optic behavior of liquid crystal dimer CB7CB. Flexoelectric properties of CB7CB experimentally characterized by measured angle of an in-plane rotation of helical axis (HA) in polymer stabilized uniform lying helix cholesteric liquid crystal. The 45° rotation of HA providing full intensity modulation of transmitted through a pair of crossed polarizers light, i...

We developed a liquid crystal LC alignment method using a molecular template of an imprinted polymer layer during polymerization-induced phase separation. Our results showed that the nematic ordering of LC is transferred to the polymer chain ordering during an anisotropic phase separation, which produces an anisotropic azimuthal surface anchoring. Using in-plane field treatment during phase sep...

When liquid crystal elastomers are prepared without any alignment, disordered polydomain structures emerge as the materials are cooled into the nematic phase. These polydomain structures are often attributed to quenched disorder in the cross-linked polymer network. As an alternative explanation, we develop a theory for the dynamics of the isotropic-nematic transition in liquid crystal elastomer...