Molecular alignment and field-induced reorientation in a twisted nematic liquid crystal pi-cell

Abstract

A twisted nematic pi-cell has been studied by optical transmission measurement, polarized Fourier-transform infrared (pFTIR) absorption spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. Our pFTIR results suggest that the LC molecules undergo a restricted rotation about the molecular long axis. The rise and decay times of the optical response were found to be 6 ms and 1.6 ms, respectively. The switching dynamics of the twisted pi-cell was also studied using time-resolved Raman spectroscopy. A normal mode associated with the C-H out-of-plane wag on the LC core was found to be enhanced after the electric field was switched off. Our data show that LC molecules in the twisted pi-cell do not rotate like a rigid molecule during the field-induced reorientation process. The methods employed in this study have yielded valuable information about LC alignment and field-induced reorientation with respect to functional group specificity.