Liquid Crystal Interface Control and Phenomena

凯斯西储大学材料研究部固态材料化学项目的这一奖项旨在增强我们对表面与液晶之间相互作用性质的理解，特别是在受控极性倾斜领域。 该项目的主要目标包括使用喷墨技术对准的新方法，基于液晶的准周期介质激光器，以及表面手性诱导的偏振现象。 这些领域的进展有望改变我们对液晶取向控制和应用的概念和方法。此外，拟议的工作旨在实现显着改善的控制和锚定远远超出谐波近似和反向倾斜域和相关的拓扑缺陷更深入的理解。在这方面，拟议的工作有几个目标相互关联的表面操纵的共同主题。 作为该项目的一部分，两种不同的取向聚酰亚胺将用于控制液晶的预倾角的长度尺度小到几微米。 这些研究有望开发出一种新型的电开关、偏振无关的闪耀光栅。通过表面取向控制的准周期介电结构的拟议研究预计将作为光子带隙器件，并可用作高度可调谐的无反射镜激光器。该提案的科学广泛影响可能非常强大，有助于理解液晶与取向层相互作用背后的基础科学以及关于这些取向和相互作用的基本软凝聚态物理学。 计划中的新光栅的特性将具有有趣的应用，如激光介质和新设备，如激光束转向和自适应光学。 拟议的高中至博士后学生的教学、培训和外联活动将对培养一批强大的未来科学家产生重大影响。 作为这项研究项目的一部分，新的研究生和本科课程，如？复杂流体光学然后呢？液晶物理将进一步发展和扩大，并将纳入凯斯西储大学的课程。

This award to Case Western Reserve University by the Solid State Materials Chemistry program in the Division of Materials Research is to enhance our understanding about the nature of interaction between surfaces and liquid crystal, especially in the realm of controlled polar tilt. The main goal of the project includes novel approaches to alignment using ink-jet technology, to quasiperiodic dielectric lasers based on liquid crystals, and to surface chirality-induced polarization phenomena. Advances in these areas are expected to transform our conceptions about, and methodology toward, liquid crystal orientation control and applications. Additionally, the proposed work seeks to achieve significantly improved control and much deeper understandings of anchoring well beyond the harmonic approximation and of reverse tilt domains and associated topological defects. In this light, the proposed work has several objectives interconnected by the common theme of surface manipulation. As part of this project, two different aligning polyimides will be used to control pretilt angle of the liquid crystal on length scales as small as a few micrometers. These studies are expected to develop a novel electrically-switchable, polarization-independent blazed grating. The proposed studies with quasiperiodic dielectric structures via surface orientation control are expected to serve as photonic band gap devices, and may be used as highly tunable mirrorless lasers. The scientific broad impact of the proposal could be very strong in understanding the basic science behind the interactions of liquid crystals with alignment layers and the basic soft condensed matter physics about these alignments and interactions. The properties of new gratings that are planned would have interesting applications as lasing media and new devices such as laser beam steering and adaptive optics. The proposed teaching, training and outreach activities of students from High School to Postdoctoral levels would have a significant impact in developing a strong pool of future scientists. As part of this research project, new graduate and undergraduate courses such as ?Optics of Complex Fluids? and ?The Physics of Liquid Crystals? will be further developed and expanded, and will be incorporated in to Case Western University curriculum.