Gwag Jin Seog, Oh-E Masahito, Kim Kwang-Ryul, Cho Sung-Hak, Yoneya Makoto, Yokoyama Hiroshi, Satou Hiroyuki, Itami Setsuo
Liquid Crystal Nano-System Project, ERATO-SORST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 300-2635, Japan.
Nanotechnology. 2008 Oct 1;19(39):395301. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/19/39/395301. Epub 2008 Aug 8.
In order to homeotropically align liquid crystals (LCs) at the nanosized surface grooves processed by nanoimprint lithography technology (NIL), we propose to design a hybrid-type homeotropic polymer material consisting of two distinct moieties with largely different thermo-mechanical properties and surface activity. Surface contact angle measurements and sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy allow us to conclude that the polymer film is a functionally separated composite suitable for the homeotropic LC alignment processed by NIL. As one of the potential applications using the hybrid-type homeotropic polymer, we demonstrate that the nanoimprinted grooves at the polymer surface can achieve a zenithal nematic LC bistability.
为了使液晶（LC）在通过纳米压印光刻技术（NIL）加工的纳米尺寸表面凹槽中垂直排列，我们建议设计一种混合型垂直排列聚合物材料，该材料由两个具有很大不同热机械性能和表面活性的不同部分组成。表面接触角测量和和频振动光谱使我们能够得出结论，该聚合物薄膜是一种功能分离的复合材料，适用于通过NIL进行的垂直液晶排列。作为使用混合型垂直排列聚合物的潜在应用之一，我们证明了聚合物表面的纳米压印凹槽可以实现向列型液晶的顶向双稳态。
