The anchoring strength, anchoring angle and molecular order at the droplet wall are measurable parameters which affect the nematic director configuration and hence the electro- optic response of PDLC display devices. Technologies to measure these quantities and the authors' current understanding of their role in droplet morphology are presented. The cylindrical geometries of Nuclepore filters are shown to be 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.

Date Published: 1 June 1991
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 1455, Liquid-Crystal Devices and Materials, (1 June 1991); doi: 10.1117/12.44676

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1455:
Liquid-Crystal Devices and Materials
Paul S. Drzaic; Uzi Efron, Editor(s)