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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Unwinding of the uniform lying helix structure in cholesteric liquid crystals next to a spatially uniform aligning
Patrick S Salter1, Giovanni Carbone, Sharon A Jewell
1Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PJ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
The symmetry of the cholesteric uniform lying helix (ULH) structure, where the helix axis is aligned in a single direction parallel to the device substrates, is not compatible with a uniform surface alignment and an unwinding of the helical structure is expected at the interface. Fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy experiments are performed on the interface between a bulk ULH and a uniform aligning surface (for both planar and homeotropic alignments). The results are analyzed in the framework of a finite difference numerical simulation based on the Frank elastic distortion, to determine relevant director structures. An optical model is introduced to predict three-dimensional fluorescence profiles for the structures. Comparison of experimental and theoretical results shows that the equilibrium structure of the system involves a continuous unwinding of the helix close to the surface.
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