Surface-mediated light-controlled Friedericksz transition in a nematic liquid crystal cell

Surface-mediated director reorientation in a pure nematic liquid crystal (LC) cell in the presence of both a dc and low-power optical field has been observed. A surface-dependent lowering of the Friedericksz transition voltage in a planar cell upon light irradiation was found. It is believed that th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2001-12, Vol.90 (12), p.5963-5967
Main Authors: Boichuk, Valeriy, Kucheev, Sergey, Parka, Janusz, Reshetnyak, Victor, Reznikov, Yuriy, Shiyanovskaya, Irina, Singer, Kenneth D., Slussarenko, Sergey
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Surface-mediated director reorientation in a pure nematic liquid crystal (LC) cell in the presence of both a dc and low-power optical field has been observed. A surface-dependent lowering of the Friedericksz transition voltage in a planar cell upon light irradiation was found. It is believed that this effect is due to a light-induced change in the near-surface ion concentration in the presence of a dc field and a photosensitive surface. Enrichment in the ion concentration near the surface causes a redistribution of the electric field in the cell and its localization near the surface. As a consequence, the energy of interaction between the LC and the dc field near the surface overcomes the anchoring energy and results in the director reorientation.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.1418421