Submicrometer periodic patterns fixed by photopolymerization of dissipative structures

Abstract

In photoreactive liquid crystals, spontaneous pattern formation can be used to fabricate phase gratings or polymer films with a periodic surface modulation. Typically, the periodicity of such structures is comparable to the sample thickness, and thus in the range between several micrometers and about 100 μm. Here, attempts to create and to investigate smaller structures are presented. For a chevron pattern, periodicities as small as 800 nm could be detected.