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Enhanced Electro‐Optic Behavior for Shaped Polymer Cholesteric Liquid‐Crystal Flakes Made Using Soft Lithography
Author(s) -
TrajkovskaPetkoska A.,
Varshneya R.,
Kosc T. Z.,
Marshall K. L.,
Jacobs S. D.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.200400286
Subject(s) - materials science , lithography , liquid crystal , dielectric , polarization (electrochemistry) , soft lithography , polymer , optics , cholesteric liquid crystal , composite material , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , fabrication , medicine , chemistry , alternative medicine , physics , pathology
Polymer cholesteric liquid‐crystal (PCLC) flakes were investigated for their electro‐optical behavior under an applied alternating‐current field. Shaped flakes, fabricated using soft lithography and suspended in dielectric‐fluid‐filled cells, reoriented more uniformly than randomly shaped flakes made by fracturing of PCLC films. Extensive characterization found shaped flakes to be smooth and uniform in size, shape, and thickness. Reorientation in applied fields as low as tens of mV rms μm –1 was fastest for flakes with lateral aspect ratios greater than 1:1, confirming theoretical predictions based on Maxwell–Wagner polarization. Brilliant reflective colors and inherent polarization make shaped PCLC flakes of interest for particle displays.