Light Induced Transitions in Liquid Crystals: Characteristic Properties and Applications

The ability of light to alter/stabilize a particular thermodynamic phase is a power tool to investigate condensed matter from a new dimension. This field of photoinduced phase transitions is currently an important area of research. Being elastically soft and having subtle changes between its many phases a liquid crystal material is an attractive medium to investigate such light-driven phase transitions. The attraction is partly due to the large birefringence changes accompanying these transitions that are useful in developing photonic devices.Present work mainly due to change in the phase transitions when light is shined on them.Novel method in which induction of the phase is obtained with the illumination of light and also this phase is stabilized. Frustrated spin gas model and also nanophase segregation is used here to explain the phenomena. Present work clearly demonstrates the potential for creating photonic devices in various applications.