Abstract
The surface pining effects on phase separation dynamics of polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) with thin cell gaps are demonstrated. Comparing various boundary conditions, the inner surfaces of the substrates with or without polyimide layers [but no rubbing] cannot provide enough anchoring force, so in either case the liquid crystal (LC) droplets flow and coalesce to form larger and less uniform droplets. However, if the inner surfaces of the substrates are coated with rubbed polyimide layers with anchoring energy >1x10-4 J/m2, almost all the nucleated LC droplets grow at a fixed position during phase separation. The appearance of the coalescence is not obvious and the formed LC droplets are relatively uniform. The surface anchoring has a significant effect on the morphology of PDLCs.
©2005 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Yi-Hsin Lin, Hongwen Ren, Yung-Hsun Wu, Yue Zhao, Jiyu Fang, Zhibing Ge, and Shin-Tson Wu
Opt. Express 13(22) 8746-8752 (2005)
Che Ju Hsu, Zhi Yu Cui, Chien-Chang Chiu, Fu-Li Hsiao, and Chi Yen Huang
Opt. Mater. Express 7(12) 4374-4385 (2017)
Chia-Ming Chang, Yi-Hsin Lin, Victor Reshetnyak, Chui Ho Park, Ramesh Manda, and Seung Hee Lee
Opt. Express 25(17) 19807-19821 (2017)