Self-assembled silica photonic crystal as a liquid-crystal alignment layer and its electro-optic applications in fabry-perot cavity structures

Abstract

The liquid crystal (LC) alignment on photonic crystals (PC) films fabricated by the self-assembly method was investigated. The surface of the single-crystal PC was examined using atomic force microscopy. The presence of microgrooves on the PC surface with spacings of ∼50 μm and depths of ∼50 nm was also observed. The results show that the self-assembled PC layer is an important system, which provides the possibility of alignment of LC molecules.