Investigation of the Optical Properties of Polymer–Liquid Crystal Holographic Materials for Use in Photonics

摘要

The design of controllable, highly crosslinked recording materials for optical information display and light control remains a topical task at the current step of development of information technologies. Considerable attention is given to the creation and investigation of polymer–liquid crystal composites produced with the use of holographic lithography [1]. This technique makes it possible to create a three-dimensional periodic composite structure with dimensions on the order of 100 nm. Such a highly crosslinked periodic-structure material is characterized by a polarization dependence of the optical properties and the feasibility of their controlling by an electric or magnetic field. The available experimental data are insufficient for understanding the mechanism of formation of both the structure of such composites and the effect of the structure on the orientation of liquid crystals in the bulk. The aim of this work was to study the optical properties of holographic polymer–liquid crystal composites made from an acrylate polymer and nematic liquid crystals (LCs) with positive dielectric anisotropy.