Alignment of Liquid Crystals Infiltrated into Porous Thin Films with Tailored Nanostructures Grown by Glancing Angle Deposition

Abstract

Traditional liquid crystal alignment techniques influence mesogen alignment at the substrate alone, and rely on interactions between molecules to extend that alignment throughout a device's thickness. An alternative approach is the use of a nanostructured host that provides a large surface contact area with a guest liquid crystalline material and can extend for micrometres beyond the substrate. This permits a greater degree of control over the mesogens and allows alignment control throughout the thickness of the nanostructured host. We present the realization and experimental results using hosts fabricated through a specialized thin film process known as glancing angle deposition.

Keywords:

• alignment
• dichroic
• nanostructures
• porous
• switching

Acknowledgments

Thanks to George Braybrook for his SEM work, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Informatics Circle of Research Excellence (iCORE), Micralyne Inc., Alberta Ingenuity and the Alberta Heritage Fund for financial support.

Notes

Note: Δn is given for λ = 600 nm. Also shown are proposed alignment orientations for the films, as inferred from the results.