Birefringence nematics

The problems of supertwisted displays are response times. Current nematic mixtures have response times of 200 ms, which is much slower than the 80 ms required in mouse and cursor applications in personal computers, and far slower than the 15 ms required for video applications. This problem is being solved by using higher birefringence nematic mixtures and decreasing the cell gap down to 4-5 microns. For instance, Seiko-Epson have developed a 50 ms response time display [6]. 

If the anisotropies of the elastic constants and optical field propa tion characteristics in the birefringent nematic film are taken into account, the resulting equations for the optical field, elastic and optical torques, and so on become more complicated. The starting point of the analysis is the Euler-Lagrange equation associated with a small director axis reorientation angle 0(z) ... 

A nematic liquid crystal cell, based on Merck Licrilite E202, was used in these experiments. The rod like liquid crystal molecules preferentially aligned themselves with each other and to an alignment surface in the liquid crystal device. Any birefringence. An, was given as the difference between the two orthogonal refractive indices. As a consequence, any resulting... 

In particular most of the early studies on CPL were based on the incorporation of a luminescent achiral chromophore in a chiral nematic or cholesteric liquid crystal. Chiral nematic liquid crystals (CNLC) are intrinsically birefringent and exhibit a helical supramo-lecular architecture, which is characterized by the pitch length p (Figure 5.11). 

N - Yellow, birefringent and transparent disclinati ons present (the original nematic phase)... 

If one follows the solution viscosity in concentrated sulfuric acid with increasing polymer concentration, then one observes first a rise, afterwards, however, an abrupt decrease (about 5 to 15%, depending on the type of polymers and the experimental conditions). This transition is identical with the transformation of an optical isotropic to an optical anisotropic liquid crystalline solution with nematic behavior. Such solutions in the state of rest are weakly clouded and become opalescent when they are stirred they show birefringence, i.e., they depolarize linear polarized light. The two phases, formed at the critical concentration, can be separated by centrifugation to an isotropic and an anisotropic phase. A high amount of anisotropic phase is desirable for the fiber properties. This can be obtained by variation of the molecular weight, the solvent, the temperature, and the polymer concentration. 

Switchable birefringence film Supertwisted nematic (STN), ferroelectric (FLC), electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) displays... 

Physical properties of liquid crystals are generally anisotropic (see, for example, du Jeu, 1980). The anisotropic physical properties that are relevant to display devices are refractive index, dielectric permittivity and orientational elasticity (Raynes, 1983). A nematic LC has two principal refractive indices, Un and measured parallel and perpendicular to the nematic director respectively. The birefringence An = ny — rij is positive, typically around 0.25. The anisotropy in the dielectric permittivity which is given by As = II — Sj is the driving force for most electrooptic effects in LCs. The electric contribution to the free energy contains a term that depends on the angle between the director n and the electric field E and is given by... 

Tumbling regime At very low shear rates, the birefringence axis (or the director) of the nematic solution tumbles continuously up to a reduced shear rate T < 9.5. While the time for complete rotation stays approximately equal to that calculated from Eq. (85), the scalar order parameter S,dy) oscillates around its equilibrium value S. Maximum positive departures of S(dy) from S occur at 0 n/4 and — 3n/4, and maximum negative departures at 0 x — k/4 and — 5it/4, while the amplitude of oscillation increases with increasing T. 

Sensitized for blue-green or red light, photoconductive polyimides and liquid crystal mixtures of cyanobiphenyls and azoxybenzene have been used in spatial light modulators [255-261]. Modulation procedure was achieved by means of the electrically controlled birefringence, optical activity, cholesteric-nematic phase transition, dynamic scattering and light scattering in polymer-dispersed liquid crystals. 

The birefringence An of a nematic phase depends on the anisotropic polarizabilities a, a L and the degree of order S (Eq. (3), p. 114). The polarizabilities ae and of a nematic phase parallel and perpendicular to the director respectively obey the following relations 53)... 

Fig. 12. Birefringence of nematic polymers 1) normal nematic polymer (An > 0)...

From the measurements of the birefringence in Fig. 12a further important aspect has to be mentioned. With increasing temperature An does not continuously tend to zero at the phase transformation temperature Tc but vanishes discontinuously. At the phase transformation the nematic phase, having a finite birefringence, coexists... 

From these measurements of linear dichroism, it can be concluded, that the linkage of l-l.c. s to a polymer backbone generally reduces the nematic order. This effect has been found so far for poly(acrylates), poly(methacrylates) and poly-(siloxanes) and is established by NMR 59,60), ESR61) and birefringence measurements. 

A detailed insight into the freezing-in process is given by optical investigations. As described in 2.3.1.4 for nematics, 2.3.2.3 for cholesterics and 2.3.3.3 for smectics, the optical uniaxial character of the polymers in the liquid crystalline state has been proved by birefringence measurements and the state of order was calculated from these measurements. This method also provides information about the glassy state. For conventional l.c s it has been demonstrated, that the temperature dependence of... 

Such polymers adopt, when affected by a mechanical field, an optically uniaxial homeotropic structure polymers B.1.2, B.1.7, B.1.8 (Table 8) have positive birefringence polymers B.1.1, B.1.8. (Table 9) have negative birefringence, which has not been reported to our knowledge, for low-molecular nematic liquid crystals. Although the authors do not comment on the cause for the observed phenomenon, the fact in itself is sufficiently uncommon. 

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