Control of liquid crystal molecular orientation using ultrasound vibration

We propose a technique to control the orientation of nematic liquid crystals using ultrasound and investigate the optical characteristics of the oriented samples. An ultrasonic liquid crystal cell with a thickness of 5–25 μm and two ultrasonic lead zirconate titanate transducers was fabricated. By e...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2016-03, Vol.108 (10)
Main Authors: Taniguchi, Satoki, Koyama, Daisuke, Shimizu, Yuki, Emoto, Akira, Nakamura, Kentaro, Matsukawa, Mami
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied physics
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
CONTROL
Crystal structure
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
LAYERS
Lead zirconate titanates
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
LIQUID CRYSTALS
Luminous intensity
Materials fatigue
Nematic crystals
Optical properties
ORIENTATION
OSCILLATION MODES
PZT
Sound waves
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
THICKNESS
TRANSDUCERS
Ultrasonic imaging
Vibration mode
VISIBLE RADIATION
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Summary:We propose a technique to control the orientation of nematic liquid crystals using ultrasound and investigate the optical characteristics of the oriented samples. An ultrasonic liquid crystal cell with a thickness of 5–25 μm and two ultrasonic lead zirconate titanate transducers was fabricated. By exciting the ultrasonic transducers, the flexural vibration modes were generated on the cell. An acoustic radiation force to the liquid crystal layer was generated, changing the molecular orientation and thus the light transmission. By modulating the ultrasonic driving frequency and voltage, the spatial distribution of the molecular orientation of the liquid crystals could be controlled. The distribution of the transmitted light intensity depends on the thickness of the liquid crystal layer because the acoustic field in the liquid crystal layer is changed by the orientational film.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4943494