Multiple scattering effects in polymer dispersed liquid crystals

Abstract

We have measured the angular distribution of light scattered from PDLC films with micron-sized droplets as a function of film thickness and applied voltage. We find that a single scattering picture does not give a good description of the observed scattered intensity. In particular, the intensity falls off much more weakly with scattering angle than one would predict from the anomalous diffraction cross-section calculated by Zumer. We present a simple model for describing double and higher order scattering events that gives a better quantitative description of the experimental observations. The model can be combined with a model for the switching behaviour of PDLC films to describe the scattering as a function of the applied voltage.