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Updated: Feb 15, 2026
High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal
Published on: October 31, 2019
Nematic liquid crystal alignment on subwavelength metal gratings
Irina V Kasyanova1, Artur R Geivandov1, Vladimir V Artemov1
1Liquid crystals laboratory, Shubnikov Institute of Crystallography of Federal Scientific Research Centre "Crystallography and Photonics" of Russian Academy of Sciences, 119333 Leninsky Ave. 59, Moscow, Russia.
Abstract:
We have studied the alignment of a nematic liquid crystal (LC) material on aluminum subwavelength nanogratings as a function of the period, p, and the slit width to period ratio, w/p. A method, based on Fourier analysis of the transmittance spectra of the LC grating system, has been applied. We show that the gratings provide stable planar alignment only for shorter periods and narrower slits (p < 400 nm, w/p < 2/3). As these parameters increase, the homogeneous surface alignment changes to domains with different tilt angles or to spatially modulated alignment. We have also obtained a 90° twisted LC director distribution, implying sufficiently strong azimuthal LC anchoring at the grating surface.
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