Threshold of structural transition in nematic drops with normal boundary conditions in AC electric field

Vladimir G. Bodnar; Alexandr V. Koval'chuk; Oleg D. Lavrentovich; V. M. Pergamenshchik; V. V. Sergan

doi:10.1117/12.44699

1 June 1991 Threshold of structural transition in nematic drops with normal boundary conditions in AC electric field

Vladimir G. Bodnar, Alexandr V. Koval'chuk, Oleg D. Lavrentovich, V. M. Pergamenshchik, V. V. Sergan

Proceedings Volume 1455, Liquid-Crystal Devices and Materials; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.44699
Event: Electronic Imaging '91, 1991, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The rearrangements in dispersed nematic drops with normal boundary conditions in an external ac electric field have been closely investigated with a polarizing microscope. It is shown both experimentally and theoretically that the dependence of the critical field Ec, which causes the replacement of the radial-like structure by an axial one, on the drop diameter d can be nonmonotonic. For small drops (d < de) Ec decreases as d increases; for large drops (d >> de), Ec increases with d. Here de is the thickness of the domain wall associated with strong director deformations localized at the drop equator, which may be roughly estimated as electric coherence length. The elastic deformations associated mainly with this wall are shown to be responsible for the above mentioned peculiarities of Ec(d).

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Vladimir G. Bodnar, Alexandr V. Koval'chuk, Oleg D. Lavrentovich, V. M. Pergamenshchik, and V. V. Sergan "Threshold of structural transition in nematic drops with normal boundary conditions in AC electric field", Proc. SPIE 1455, Liquid-Crystal Devices and Materials, (1 June 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.44699

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