Optical Microscopic Studies of Electric-Field-Induced Dynamics in Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals: Confinement and Interfacial Effects

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Professor Daniel Higgins of Kansas State University is supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry program and Solid State Chemistry in the Division of Materials Research to perform highly spatially-resolved experiments on polymer dispersed liquid crystals. The tiny droplets of liquid crystals studied here are of interest from standpoints both fundamental (for the new physics involved) and practical (optical device technology). This work seeks to elaborate on previous studies in which near field spectroscopy was used to generate a local field to reorient molecules in the liquid crystal. The dynamics of electric-field induced liquid crystal reorientation and ion generation, migration and recombination are to be studied using new time-resolved forms of NSOM and multiphoton-excited fluorescence microscopy. Droplet sizes will be controlled using latex sphere-produced templates. Work on new aspects of liquid crystals is especially timely because of its applicability to new materials for diffractive optics, switchable holograms and photorefractive devices. The work is also related to nanotechnology and biologically important effects.