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Fluorescence Confocal Polarizing Microscopy: Imaging Liquid Crystal Director Fields in Three Dimensions
Author(s) -
Dierking Ingo
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
chemphyschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.016
H-Index - 140
eISSN - 1439-7641
pISSN - 1439-4235
DOI - 10.1002/1439-7641(20011119)2:11<663::aid-cphc663>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - microscopy , liquid crystal , confocal microscopy , confocal , optics , optical microscope , anisotropy , fluorescence , materials science , fluorescence microscope , microscope , polarized light microscopy , fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy , optoelectronics , physics , scanning electron microscope
Conventional polarizing microscopy allows only information from two dimensions, on account of optical integration along the path of light propagation. Real three‐dimensional imaging of orientational order has now become possible with fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy. This technique provides a useful tool in the visualization of director fields in liquid crystal cells, as schematically shown in the picture, and will be of great potential in the study of director distributions in defect structures of anisotropic fluids.