Chirped POLICRYPS gratings containing self-aligning liquid crystals

A novel chirped polymer/liquid crystal diffraction grating (POLICRYPS) structure with periods ranging from 10 µm to 100 µm is reported. The chirped gratings are realized by using a single beam curing process through a diffractive waveplate mask with varying periodicity. The quality of the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) alignment inside the chirped structures as a function of periodicity was investigated using a polarized optical microscope technique. The extent of phase separation between the polymer and the NLC improves as the average spacing between the polymeric walls gets smaller. In the regions where phase separation is most complete, the duty cycle of the grating is proportional to the initial concentration of the two main components (polymer and NLC). The degree of order of the NLC within the phase separated channels was measured with a Mueller Matrix Spectroscopic Polarimeter. There is strong experimental evidence that the orientation of the NLC molecular director inside the structure is perpendicular to the surface of the polymer phase separated walls. Electro-optic measurements reveal a strong correlation between the on–off response times and the average distance between the polymeric walls. Our findings opens new avenues to realize a new generation of LCs based devices without using surface treatment or functionalization.