Non-uniform helix unwinding of cholesteric liquid crystals in cells with interdigitated electrodes

A microspectrophotometer was used to elucidate the local optical properties of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) in cells with interdigitated electrodes as a function of applied voltage. The spectra collected from a spatially selective and micron-sized sampling area allow for new insights into the spectral properties of CLCs in the gaps between patterned electrodes. The microscopic electro-optic response is shown to be highly dependent on the cell thickness and the electrode periodicity. Specifically, the helix unwinding of the CLC superstructure does not always occur uniformly in the sample, as a result of field gradients through the cell thickness: for cells with relatively narrow gaps and electrodes, the redshift occurs initially only in the CLC layers closest to the substrate with the electrodes, leading to broad reflection spectra and different reflection colors depending on which side of the cell is illuminated. Theoretical estimates of the expected shift in the reflection band gap based on the critical field for a given CLC material and the spatial variation of electric field in the cell are found to be in good agreement with the complex behavior observed experimentally. In contrast, in thin cells with wider gaps, the pitch increase affects the whole CLC layer uniformly, because the electric field gradient is small.