Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 6 June 1997:
Vol. 276. no. 5318, pp. 1533 - 1536
DOI: 10.1126/science.276.5318.1533
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Design of Surfaces for Patterned Alignment of Liquid Crystals on Planar and Curved Substrates

Vinay K. Gupta, Nicholas L. Abbott *

Molecularly designed surfaces formed by chemisorption of alkanethiols on ultrathin films of gold permit control of both the azimuthal and polar orientations of supported nematic liquid crystals (LCs). These surfaces, when patterned, form simple and versatile templates for the fabrication of complex optical structures from LCs. Surfaces patterned with odd or even alkanethiols, or mixtures of long and short alkanethiols, were used to fabricate tunable, micrometer-scale LC diffraction gratings that differed in their polarization sensitivity. Patterned alignment of LCs on curved surfaces is also demonstrated, thereby providing principles for fabrication of optical elements that combine diffractive and refractive optics.

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: nlabbott{at}ucdavis.edu

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Surface-Driven Switching of Liquid Crystals Using Redox-Active Groups on Electrodes.
Y.-Y. Luk and N. L. Abbott (2003)
Science 301, 623-626
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Alignment of Liquid Crystals with Patterned Isotropic Surfaces.
B.-w. Lee and N. A. Clark (2001)
Science 291, 2576-2580
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Optically Defined Multifunctional Patterning of Photosensitive Thin-Film Silica Mesophases.
D. A. Doshi, N. K. Huesing, M. Lu, H. Fan, Y. Lu, K. Simmons-Potter, B. G. Potter Jr., A. J. Hurd, and C. J. Brinker (2000)
Science 290, 107-111
   Abstract »    Full Text »
Optical Amplification of Ligand-Receptor Binding Using Liquid Crystals.
V. K. Gupta, J. J. Skaife, T. B. Dubrovsky, and N. L. Abbott (1998)
Science 279, 2077-2080
   Abstract »    Full Text »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)