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Artificial Microscopic Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals Created by Patterned Photoalignment And Controlled Confinement: Instrumentation, Fabrication and Characterization

Culbreath, Christopher Michael
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1424375624

Abstract Details

2015, PHD, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Chemical Physics.
Disclination lines play a decisive role in determining the equilibrium structures of topologically constrained liquid crystal systems including cholesteric blue phases, twist grain boundary phases and liquid crystal colloids. The extra energy associated with disclinations is key to stabilizing one particular director structure over another, yet our knowledge of disclination energetics is limited as are characterization methods. In this work, we detail our approach which has focused onbuilding versatile one-of-a-kind instruments for studying liquid crystal systems. This work details the development and use of two novel instruments: an automated maskless photoalignment pattern generator (maskless system) and ad ynamic-cell system that allows for the automated mechanical adjustment of the liquid crystal cell thickness, twist angle and temperature. Both instruments were extensively re fined and characterized for maximum performance. In addition, both instruments were designed as versatile platformsfor new research. In this work, we used the maskless system to create novel surface alignments and Pancharatnam-phase devices, and we employed the dynamic-cell system for the generation and characterization of reverse-twist-domain defect loops.
Hiroshi Yokoyama (Advisor)
Philip Bos (Committee Member)
Antal Jakli (Committee Member)
Elizabeth Mann (Committee Member)
Michael Tubergen (Committee Member)
170 p.
Chemistry; Physical Chemistry; Physics
Twist disclination loops, nematic defect loops, defect energy, photo alignment, patterned surface alignment, surface anchoring strength, liquid crystals, nematic liquid crystals

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Culbreath, C. M. (2015). Artificial Microscopic Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals Created by Patterned Photoalignment And Controlled Confinement: Instrumentation, Fabrication and Characterization [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1424375624

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Culbreath, Christopher. Artificial Microscopic Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals Created by Patterned Photoalignment And Controlled Confinement: Instrumentation, Fabrication and Characterization. 2015. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1424375624.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Culbreath, Christopher. "Artificial Microscopic Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals Created by Patterned Photoalignment And Controlled Confinement: Instrumentation, Fabrication and Characterization." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1424375624

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1424375624
353
© 2015, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Artificial Microscopic Structures in Nematic Liquid Crystals Created by Patterned Photoalignment And Controlled Confinement: Instrumentation, Fabrication and Characterization by Christopher Michael Culbreath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.