Ray optics simulations of polarised microscopy textures in chiral nematic droplets

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe present a simple method for simulating optical polarised micrographs of director fields in optically birefringent structures. Jones matrix method is applied for simulating polarised micrographs with focusing optics that can sufficiently account for different focusing distances and numerical apertures (NAs) in the polarised microscopy, which are the typical experimental variables. Accuracy of the method is assessed by comparing experimental and numerical micrographs of various structures in cholesteric liquid crystal droplets. The effects of varied focusing distance and scale are tested. The performance of the developed method is further demonstrated by varying viewing direction, position of focusing plane and the size of the observed structure, which prove to be elementary and easily changed parameters of this approach.