Surface-Induced Nematic Ordering using SiO2 Grating

Abstract
The orientational order parameter and elastic strain energy near a physically-treated surface are presented. Gratings with various pitches (0.5, 0.75, 1 and 2 µm) are fabricated on the cell substrate in order to investigate the surface-induced nematic (RO-CH 154) ordering. The orientational order parameters measured at the surface and in the bulk decrease with increase in the grating pitch and saturate at a pitch of 1 µm. We show that the liquid crystal molecules are uniformly aligned parallel to the grating grooves for an elastic stain energy higher than 10-7 J/m2.