Ferromagnetic Liquid Crystal Research Articles

Ferromagnetic liquid crystals for magnetic field visualisation

In this paper, we demonstrate how to apply recently discovered ferromagnetic nematic liquid crystal for visualisation of magnetic fields. The material exhibits strong optical response to both external electric and magnetic fields, which gives us an opportunity to use it for the detection of an area of magnetic vector field in a way that both, the magnitude and the direction of a given field can be simultaneously measured. We discuss the physical model that describes the behaviour of ferromagnetic liquid crystal placed in a liquid crystal cell and demonstrate the method of extracting the information about an arbitrary magnetic field from the combination of magneto-optic and electro-optic response of the sample placed in that field. We have applied the principle to a special case, where magnetic field was visualised on a 2D area near a cylindrical permanent magnet.

Magnetodielectric and magnetoviscosity response of a ferromagnetic liquid crystal at low magnetic fields

We report on experimental studies of the viscoelastic, magnetodielectric, and magnetoviscosity properties of ferromagnetic liquid crystals (LCs) prepared by dispersing ferromagnetic nanoparticles in a thermotropic LC. Both the splay elastic constant and rotational viscosity of the ferronematic LCs are found to be considerably lower than that of the pure LC and advantageous to the device applications. The ferromagnetic LCs show unique magnetodielectric and magnetoviscosity response at very low magnetic fields that are useful for smart fluid applications.

Magneto-optic and converse magnetoelectric effects in a ferromagnetic liquid crystal.

We have studied the response of ferromagnetic liquid crystals to external magnetic and electric fields, and compared it to the usual response of nematic liquid crystals (NLCs). We have observed effects, which are not present in a pure NLC and are a consequence of the coupling between the nematic director and the magnetization. The electro-optic effect, which is in the ferromagnetic phase the same as in the pure NLC, is accompanied by a converse magnetoelectric effect. The magneto-optic effect differs completely from the one observed in the pure NLC, where it is a quadratic effect and it only appears when a magnetic field larger than a critical field is applied perpendicular to the director. In the ferromagnetic NLC in addition to the response to the perpendicular field, there is also a qualitatively different response to the parallel field. Contrary to the pure NLC no critical field needs to be exceeded for the system to respond to a perpendicular field, but a critical field needs to be exceeded to observe a response to the field parallel to the director and antiparallel to the magnetization. The critical field is in this case two orders of magnitude smaller than the critical field of the magnetic Frederiks transition in the pure NLC. The experimental observations are well described by a simple macroscopic theory.

The Freiburg Stereoacuity Test: automatic measurement of stereo threshold.

There is a need for a stereotest with the following properties: (1) Natural viewing conditions, i.e. stimulus contours visible for each eye alone, but no or hardly any cue for monocular detection, and (2) suitability for threshold determination over a wide range of disparities. To comply with these requirements, we developed the Freiburg Stereoacuity Test. The stimulus configuration is shown on a visual display unit (VDU) using phase-difference haploscopy with ferromagnetic liquid crystal shutters. The stereo target consists of a vertical bar that can be presented "in front of' or "behind" a frame. The sizes of the bar and the frame are kept constant relative to the stereo disparity. Anti-aliasing allows for disparities finer than the pixel raster. To mask monocular cues the bar is displaced randomly to the right or left. The stereo threshold was determined in two observers with normal eyes, using first the method of constant stimuli and then the best PEST. Both procedures were repeated with observers wearing scatter transparencies that reduced their visual acuity to about 1/10. In addition, the two observers with insight into the test design and two strabismic patients performed the best PEST procedure with one eye only. With constant stimuli both observers achieved a stereoacuity of 2.6 arcsec and 3.1 arcsec, respectively, taking a hit rate of 75% as the threshold. The best PEST revealed a stereoacuity of 2.5 arcsec and 3.0 arcsec, respectively. The scatter transparencies raised the threshold to 261 and 257, respectively. With one eye only, the two observers with insight into the test design exploited the subtle position cue and reached a coarse pseudostereopsis. The two strabismic patients did not utilise the position cue. The Freiburg Stereoacuity Test allows determination of stereoacuity over a wide range of disparities (1-1000 arcsec). Although the stimuli can be seen with each eye alone, monocular depth cues are sufficiently masked. The Freiburg Stereoacuity Test is available at http://www.ukl.uni-freiburg.de/aug/bach/fst/.

Some Conditions of Ferromagnetic Liquid Crystal Existence

AbstractThe possibility of the existence of the ferromagnetic liquid crystal based on analogy between electric and magnetic phenomena is considered. Nematic and smectic liquid crystalline states and symmetry conditions are discussed. The most common case — hypothetical ferromagnetic‐ferroelectric liquid crystal (FFLC) and some of the field effects on it are described based on Landau free energy expression.

Ordering and phase transitions in liquid crystals

Abstract Structures and properties of different types of liquid crystals are discussed from a uniform point of view. Apart from the traditional mesophases (nematics, cholesterics, smectics), some new examples, including polymeric, metalloorganic and ferromagnetic liquid crystals, are also investigated. Systems with several macroscopic scales on which the type of ordering may differ, are described and analysed. Phase transitions and certain types of critical behaviour in different liquid crystals are studied.