Surface Vertical Alignment Effect on the Morphology of Liquid Crystal Optical Devices

Abstract

The effect of liquid crystal (LC) vertical alignment on phase separation dynamics of liquid crystal optical devices with different cell gaps is investigated in this paper. As the cell gap increases, the surface effect on the bulk LC droplets is reduced due to the longer distance. It is found in this experiment that the vertical alignment film can influence the LC droplets in the middle of the gap, and in the meanwhile the surface effect is not too strong to disturb phase separate. In that case, the LC droplets separate at a fixed position during phase separation and also can flow to form good morphology. The surface vertical alignment has a significant effect on the morphology of liquid crystal optical devices.