Polymerization-Induced Modification of the Switching Process of a Nematic Liquid Crystal

In this paper, we demonstrate a method for modifying the switching process of a liquid crystal by utilizing selective photopolymerization of a nematic liquid crystal-based composite. The proposed method is based on point-by-point irradiation of a uniformly oriented nematic with a high-intensity blue laser to create unusual polymer chains. Instead of a typical polymer network consisting of long chains, shorter chains are obtained that are unanchored to the aligning surface of the liquid crystal cell. This is possible due to the irradiation of the composite only at one small point at a time and the heating of the material resulting from the absorption of radiation. Consequently, the polymerized pattern is visible only during the reorientation of the liquid crystal.