Topological Defect Arrays in Nematic Liquid Crystals Assisted by Polymeric Pillar Arrays: Effect of the Geometry of Pillars

• Main Authors: MinSu Kim, Francesca Serra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Crystals
• Subjects: liquid crystals; soft matter; defect arrays; diffraction
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/10/4/314

Topological defects that spontaneously occur in condensed matter and structured fluids such as liquid crystals are useful for their elastic and optical properties, but often the applicability of defect arrays to optics and photonic devices relies on the regularity and tunability of the system. In our recent work [<i>Adv. Opt. Mater.</i> <b>8</b>, 1900991 (2020)], we showed the formation of regular, reconfigurable, and scalable patterns by exploiting the elastic response of a defect array in liquid crystals in the presence of a polymeric pillar array. In this work, we experimentally investigate the role of size and shape of the pillars on the defect array. We find that the pillar size and geometry provide additional means to regulate the response time, the threshold voltage for the defects’ formation, and the spatial arrangement of the defects.