Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Liquid crystal blue phases
T2 - stability, field effects and alignment
AU - Görtz, Verena
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - The blue phases are fascinating structures in liquid crystals, fluids that exhibit cubic structures that have true crystalline order. The blue phases were discovered in the 1970s and were the subject of extensive research in the 1980s, when a deep understanding of many of their properties was established. The discovery that the blue phases could be stabilised to exist over wide temperature ranges meant that they became more than scientific curiosities and led to a recent resurgence in research into them as they offer some promise in applications. This paper considers some important aspects of the blue phases that are recurrent topics in their research. It describes factors affecting blue phase stability, demonstrating on the role of the bend elastic constant; field effects, including the Kerr effect, electrostriction and relaxation phenomena; and alignment, in particular production and control of blue phase monodomains. The dependence of these phenomena on the physical properties of the liquid crystalline system, including the twist and bend elastic constants and the dielectric anisotropy, is emphasised wherever possible. The paper links work carried out in the 1980s with contemporary research, using a few key examples to show how there is still much to understand in this beautiful topic.
AB - The blue phases are fascinating structures in liquid crystals, fluids that exhibit cubic structures that have true crystalline order. The blue phases were discovered in the 1970s and were the subject of extensive research in the 1980s, when a deep understanding of many of their properties was established. The discovery that the blue phases could be stabilised to exist over wide temperature ranges meant that they became more than scientific curiosities and led to a recent resurgence in research into them as they offer some promise in applications. This paper considers some important aspects of the blue phases that are recurrent topics in their research. It describes factors affecting blue phase stability, demonstrating on the role of the bend elastic constant; field effects, including the Kerr effect, electrostriction and relaxation phenomena; and alignment, in particular production and control of blue phase monodomains. The dependence of these phenomena on the physical properties of the liquid crystalline system, including the twist and bend elastic constants and the dielectric anisotropy, is emphasised wherever possible. The paper links work carried out in the 1980s with contemporary research, using a few key examples to show how there is still much to understand in this beautiful topic.
KW - blue phase
KW - elastic constants
KW - electric field effects
KW - alignment
U2 - 10.1080/02678292.2014.1002821
DO - 10.1080/02678292.2014.1002821
M3 - Journal article
VL - 42
SP - 760
EP - 771
JO - Liquid Crystals
JF - Liquid Crystals
SN - 0267-8292
IS - 5-6
ER -