Molecular Anchoring at the Droplet Wall in PDLC Materials

摘要

The anchoring strength, anchoring angle and molecular order at the droplet wallare measureable parameters which affect the nematic director configuration and hence the electro-optic response of PDLC display devices. Technologies to measure these quantities and our current understanding of their role in droplet morphology are presented. The cylindrical geometries of Nuclepore filters are shown useful in studying the competing effects of anchoring energy and cavity curvature for different surface treatments. Nuclear magnetic resonance methods are used to determine director configurations of submicron cavity sizes while optical microscope textures are preferable in supramicron-size droplets.