Inducing monodomain blue phase liquid crystals by long-lasting voltage application during temperature variation

ABSTRACT

We demonstrate a new successful technique for inducing a monodomain in blue phase (BP) liquid crystals (BPLCs). By application of an AC voltage during the cooling or heating of the material into the BP temperature range, a fairly homogeneous BP area was obtained, compared to the case without voltage. We determined that applying a voltage of 3.3 V/µm was very effective in terms of obtaining a monodomain: for four of the seven different applied cooling/heating rates an area ratio of more than 99% was obtained for one particular BP orientation. This study describes a successful and replicable technique to make a BPLC monodomain, which is important for the development of BPLCs and other applications.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Monodomain
• blue phase
• liquid crystals
• electrical treatment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Flemish agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) [grant number 120019].