Ferromagnetic Liquid Crystal Research Articles

Macroscopic dynamics of ferromagnetic smectic-A.

We derive the macroscopic dynamic equationsfor ferromagnetic smectic-A liquid crystals for which the spontaneous magnetization is parallel to the layer normal of the layering. As additional macroscopic variables when compared to simple fluids, we have the layer displacement u, familiar from smectic liquid crystals, and the magnetization density M. We find a number of reversible and dissipative cross-coupling terms to the additional macroscopic variables and discuss possible experiments to detect them. Among other effects, we point out that the velocity of first sound becomes anisotropic due to the influence of the modulus of the magnetization, while the magnitude of the velocity of second sound is modified. As for the static behavior, we find cross-coupling terms between the magnitude of the magnetization, on the one hand, and layer compression as well as osmotic pressure, on the other hand. In addition, we point out that as a dissipative effect, temperature gradients can induce gradients in the magnetization parallel to the layer normal, mediated by layer compressions.

Tuneable optical diffractive structures from liquid crystalline materials incorporated into periodic polymeric scaffolds

ABSTRACTDiffractive optical elements (DOEs) are micro-structured components used in various photonic devices to manipulate propagation direction and often also polarisation state of optical beams. The simplest type of DOEs are one-dimensional diffraction gratings. We perform theoretical investigation of electrical and magnetic tunability of such gratings composed as a periodic assembly of polymer and ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal (LC) layers. We analyse how various grating parameters and boundary conditions influence the LC configuration in the assembly. For static response to external electric and/or magnetic fields, the distortion profile of the director field is determined numerically and analytically by minimisation of the Landau-de Gennes free energy, while for the dynamic response only numerical solutions are provided. The resulting optical diffraction properties are determined numerically via solving the Maxwell’s equations by using the rigorous coupled-wave analysis. We demonstrate that the described methodology provides an efficient tool for designing various new types of polarisation-sensitive LC-based DOEs, such as three-state polarisation switches for application in spectroscopic, optical communication, and remote sensing systems.

Magnetic induced terahertz modulation characteristics based on ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals

In recent years, solid state terahertz (THz) modulators have obtained rapid progress with the widespread use of two-dimensional (2D) materials in the field of THz; however, challenges remain in preparing flexible THz modulators. In this study, flexible ferromagnetic nematic materials were prepared by doping thermotropic nematic liquid crystals 5CB into magnetic fluids, and the influence of water was reduced by a self-made cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) microfluidic chip. THz modulation characteristics of magnetic fluid and ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal (FNLC) under the induction of external magnetic field were compared using a THz time domain spectroscopy system. Under the action of a 91 mT magnetic field, the magnetic fluid has a maximum modulation depth (MD) of 54%. Under the same magnetic field, the maximum MD of the FNLC materials increase to 78% because of the rearrangement of Fe3O4 nanoparticles induced by the topological defect of the liquid crystal. We demonstrate that the magneto-optical effect is significantly enhanced in the ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal hybrid system. This strategy of doping thermotropic nematic liquid crystals to enhance the magneto-optical effect has great potential for THz filtering, modulation, and sensing applications.

Magnetic induced terahertz modulation characteristics based on ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals

Magnetic induced terahertz modulation characteristics based on ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals

Magnetically Tunable Liquid Crystal-Based Optical Diffraction Gratings

We present a theoretical analysis of optical diffractive properties of magnetically tunable optical transmission gratings composed of periodically assembled layers of a polymer and a ferromagnetic liquid crystal (LC). The orientational structure of the LC layers as a function of an applied magnetic field is calculated by minimization of the Landau-de Gennes free energy for ferromagnetic LCs, which is performed numerically and also analytically by using the one-constant approximation and the approximations of the high and the low magnetic fields. Optical diffractive properties of the associated diffraction structure are calculated numerically in the framework of rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA). The presented methodology provides a basis for designing new types of diffractive optical element based on ferromagnetic LCs and simulating their operation governed by the in-plane magnetic field.

Ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic liquid crystal suspensions: Experiment and theory

In this paper, the complete theoretical and experimental studies of electrically and magnetically induced orientational transitions in suspensions of goethite nanorods in a nematic liquid crystal 4-(trans-4-n-hexylcyclohexyl)-isothiocyanato-benzene (6CHBT), known as ferronematics are presented. Two types of samples with different magnetic properties are prepared and observed. A compensated ferronematic with zero initial magnetization is obtained after cooling of the sample from isotropic to nematic phase in the absence of a magnetic field. A magnetized ferronematic with nonzero initial magnetization is prepared during application of magnetic field. The magnetically induced transitions demonstrated two different types of orientational behavior of the samples. The Fréedericksz transition in the compensated ferronematic occurred in higher magnetic field in comparison with pure nematic while the magnetized ferronematic shown well measurable response in capacitance to the applied magnetic field, even much below the Fréedericksz threshold in usual 6CHBT. Full theoretical descriptions of such behaviours of compensated and magnetized ferronematic samples are presented and all observed dependencies of the cells capacitance on magnetic field are numerically calculated. A comparative analysis shows very well qualitative and quantitative agreement between theoretical results and experimental data. Due to this, the material parameters of the investigated ferronematic system with goethite nanoparticles are estimated.

Magneto-nematic coupled dynamics in ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals under magnetic field

Magneto-nematic coupled dynamics in ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals under magnetic field

Magneto-nematic coupled dynamics in ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals under magnetic field

Dynamic properties of ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals under an external magnetic field have investigated. The coupled dynamics of the magnetization, and the director field, associated with the liquid crystalline orientation order, have studied. In the framework of the hydrodynamicand and thermodynamic approach, the role of the dynamic cross-coupling in macroscopic dynamic behavior both the nematic liquid crystal and its magneto-optic properties is considered. The dependence of the temporal evolution of a magneto-induced response on the dissipative and reversible parts of the dynamic cross-coupling is considered.

Magnetically controllable random laser in ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals.

This paper first reports random laser action in dye-doped ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals, which act as a randomly distributed cavity. The random laser intensity of the ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals can be controlled by a weak magnetic field (∼1 mT). Moreover, the magnetic switching of random laser is attributed to the direction and polarization dependent emission of light in the ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals in an external magnetic field.

Magnetically tunable optical diffraction gratings based on a ferromagnetic liquid crystal.

Transmission optical diffraction gratings composed of periodic slices of a ferromagnetic liquid crystal and a conventional photoresist polymer are demonstrated. Dependence of diffraction efficiencies of various diffraction orders on an in-plane external magnetic field is investigated. It is shown that diffraction properties can be effectively tuned by magnetic fields as low as a few mT. The tuning mechanism is explained in the framework of a simple empirical model and also by numerical simulations based on the rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA). The obtained results provide a proof of principle of operation of magnetically tunable liquid crystalline diffractive optical elements applicable in contactless schemes for control of optical signals.

Manipulation enhancement of terahertz liquid crystal phase shifter magnetically induced by ferromagnetic nanoparticles.

Ferromagnetic liquid crystals (FLCs), the suspensions of magnetic nanoparticles dispersed at different concentrations in liquid crystals (LCs), and their special magnetically induced birefringence characteristics have been investigated in the terahertz regime, mainly focusing on the interaction between magnetic cluster chains and LC molecules. We experimentally demonstrated the surface anchoring effect of the magnetic cluster chains on LC molecules in a mm-thick LC cell under an extremely weak external magnetic field (EMF), leading to a uniform anchoring arrangement of the LC molecules over the entire LC cell. Unlike pure 5CB LCs, the phase shift range of the FLCs at 1.45 THz up to π (no to ne or ne to no) can be achieved over the whole tunable range by simply changing the magnitude of the EMF without changing its direction, and the optical axis of LC molecules can be controlled to rotate by 90°, thereby realizing a tunable THz wave plate. This work provides a new way in the development of THz magneto-optic devices and phase devices.

Effects of flow on the dynamics of a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal.

We investigate the effects of flow on the dynamics of ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals. As a model, we study the coupled dynamics of the magnetization, M, the director field, n, associated with the liquid crystalline orientational order, and the velocity field, v. We evaluate how simple shear flow in a ferromagnetic nematic is modified in the presence of small external magnetic fields, and we make experimentally testable predictions for the resulting effective shear viscosity: an increase by a factor of 2 in a magnetic field of about 20 mT. Flow alignment, a characteristic feature of classical uniaxial nematic liquid crystals, is analyzed for ferromagnetic nematics for the two cases of magnetization in or perpendicular to the shear plane. In the former case, we find that small in-plane magnetic fields are sufficient to suppress tumbling and thus that the boundary between flow alignment and tumbling can be controlled easily. In the latter case, we furthermore find a possibility of flow alignment in a regime for which one obtains tumbling for the pure nematic component. We derive the analogs of the three Miesowicz viscosities well-known from usual nematic liquid crystals, corresponding to nine different configurations. Combinations of these can be used to determine several dynamic coefficients experimentally.

Topological transformations of Hopf solitons in chiral ferromagnets and liquid crystals

Liquid crystals are widely known for their facile responses to external fields, which forms a basis of the modern information display technology. However, switching of molecular alignment field configurations typically involves topologically trivial structures, although singular line and point defects often appear as short-lived transient states. Here, we demonstrate electric and magnetic switching of nonsingular solitonic structures in chiral nematic and ferromagnetic liquid crystals. These topological soliton structures are characterized by Hopf indices, integers corresponding to the numbers of times that closed-loop-like spatial regions (dubbed "preimages") of two different single orientations of rod-like molecules or magnetization are linked with each other. We show that both dielectric and ferromagnetic response of the studied material systems allow for stabilizing a host of topological solitons with different Hopf indices. The field transformations during such switching are continuous when Hopf indices remain unchanged, even when involving transformations of preimages, but discontinuous otherwise.

Magneto-optic dynamics in a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal.

We investigate dynamic magneto-optic effects in a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal experimentally and theoretically. Experimentally we measure the magnetization and the phase difference of the transmitted light when an external magnetic field is applied. As a model we study the coupled dynamics of the magnetization, M, and the director field, n, associated with the liquid crystalline orientational order. We demonstrate that the experimentally studied macroscopic dynamic behavior reveals the importance of a dynamic cross-coupling between M and n. The experimental data are used to extract the value of the dissipative cross-coupling coefficient. We also make concrete predictions about how reversible cross-coupling terms between the magnetization and the director could be detected experimentally by measurements of the transmitted light intensity as well as by analyzing the azimuthal angle of the magnetization and the director out of the plane spanned by the anchoring axis and the external magnetic field. We derive the eigenmodes of the coupled system and study their relaxation rates. We show that in the usual experimental setup used for measuring the relaxation rates of the splay-bend or twist-bend eigenmodes of a nematic liquid crystal one expects for a ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal a mixture of at least two eigenmodes.

Director reorientation dynamics of ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals.

Successful realization of ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystals has opened up the possibility to experimentally study a completely new set of fundamental physical phenomena. In this contribution we present a detailed investigation of some aspects of the static response and the complex dynamics of ferromagnetic liquid crystals under the application of an external magnetic field. Experimental results are then compared with a macroscopic model. Dynamics of the director were measured by optical methods and analyzed in terms of a theoretical macroscopic model. A dissipative cross-coupling coefficient describing the dynamic coupling between the two system order parameters, the magnetization and the nematic director, is needed to explain the results. In this contribution we examine the dependency of this coefficient on material parameters and the saturation magnetization and the liquid crystal host. Despite the complexity of the system, the theoretical description allows for a proper interpretation of the results and is connected to several microscopic aspects of the colloidal suspension.

Field-controlled structures in ferromagnetic cholesteric liquid crystals.

One of the advantages of anisotropic soft materials is that their structures and, consequently, their properties can be controlled by moderate external fields. Whereas the control of materials with uniform orientational order is straightforward, manipulation of systems with complex orientational order is challenging. We show that a variety of structures of an interesting liquid material, which combine chiral orientational order with ferromagnetic one, can be controlled by a combination of small magnetic and electric fields. In the suspensions of magnetic nanoplatelets in chiral nematic liquid crystals, the platelet's magnetic moments orient along the orientation of the liquid crystal and, consequently, the material exhibits linear response to small magnetic fields. In the absence of external fields, orientations of the liquid crystal and magnetization have wound structure, which can be either homogeneously helical, disordered, or ordered in complex patterns, depending on the boundary condition at the surfaces and the history of the sample. We demonstrate that by using different combinations of small magnetic and electric fields, it is possible to control reversibly the formation of the structures in a layer of the material. In such a way, different periodic structures can be explored and some of them may be suitable for photonic applications. The material is also a convenient model system to study chiral magnetic structures, because it is a unique liquid analog of a solid helimagnet.

Magnetic-field tuning of whispering gallery mode lasing from ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal microdroplets.

We report magnetic field tuning of the structure and Whispering Gallery Mode lasing from ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal micro-droplets. Microlasers were prepared by dispersing a nematic liquid crystal, containing magnetic nanoparticles and fluorescent dye, in a glycerol-lecithin matrix. The droplets exhibit radial director structure, which shows elastic distortion at a very low external magnetic field. The fluorescent dye doped ferromagnetic nematic droplets show Whispering Gallery Mode lasing, which is tunable by the external magnetic field. The tuning of the WGM lasing modes is linear in magnetic field with a wavelength-shift of the order of 1 nm/100 mT. Depending on the lasing geometry, the WGMs are red- or blue-shifted.

Orientational transitions in ferromagnetic liquid crystals with bistable coupling between colloidal particles and the matrix

We study the orientational response of a ferromagnetic liquid crystal that is induced by magnetic and electric fields. A modified form of the energy of the orientational interaction between magnetic impurity particles and the liquid crystal matrix that leads to bistable coupling is considered. It is shown that apart from magnetic impurity segregation, first-order orientational transitions can be due to the bistability of the potential of the orientational coupling between the director and the magnetization. The ranges of material parameters that lead to optical bistability are determined. The possibility of first-order orientational transitions is analyzed for the optical phase difference between the ordinary and extraordinary light rays transmitted through a ferronematic cell. It is shown that an electric field applied in the given geometry considerably enhances the magneto-orientational response of the ferronematic.

Ferromagnetic Switching of Knotted Vector Fields in Liquid Crystal Colloids.

We experimentally realize polydomain and monodomain chiral ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids that exhibit solitonic and knotted vector field configurations. Formed by dispersions of ferromagnetic nanoplatelets in chiral nematic liquid crystals, these colloidal ferromagnets exhibit spontaneous long-range alignment of magnetic dipole moments of individual platelets, giving rise to a continuum of the magnetization field M(r). Competing effects of surface confinement and chirality prompt spontaneous formation and enable the optical generation of localized twisted solitonic structures with double-twist tubes and torus knots of M(r), which exhibit a strong sensitivity to the direction of weak magnetic fields ∼1 mT. Numerical modeling, implemented through free energy minimization to arrive at a field-dependent three-dimensional M(r), shows a good agreement with experiments and provides insights into the torus knot topology of observed field configurations and the corresponding physical underpinnings.

Optical patterning of magnetic domains and defects in ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids

A promising approach in designing composite materials with an unusual physical behavior combines solid nanostructures and orientationally ordered soft matter at the mesoscale. Such composites can not only inherit properties of their constituents but also can exhibit emergent behavior such as ferromagnetic ordering of colloidal metal nanoparticles forming mesoscopic magnetization domains when dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal. Here, we demonstrate the optical patterning of domain structures and topological defects in such ferromagnetic liquid crystal colloids, which allows for altering their response to magnetic fields. Our findings reveal the nature of the defects in this soft matter system which is different as compared to non-polar nematics and ferromagnets alike.