Observation of Liquid Crystal Alignment in Capillaries Using a New Experimental Approach

Abstract

In this paper, we report an original fringe pattern observed in the light scattered by a nematic liquid crystal confined in a capillary. Using a fiber properly tapered, it has been possible to obtain a very well collimated and narrow beam that has been driven in a capillary filled with a nematic liquid crystal. This source beam is scattered by the liquid crystal and this scattered light exhibits a fringe pattern. This pattern is experimentally studied and an explanation is given. It is shown how the pattern is correlated with the liquid crystal structure, and in turn how this pattern can be used as a structure explorer.

Key Words:

• Capillaries
• liquid crystal
• optical polarizing