Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/1358314x.2021.2036432
Azumi Akiyama
The 19th Optics of Liquid Crystals Conference (OLC2021) was held from 26 September to 1 October 2021 organised by Organizing Committee OLC2021, The Japanese Liquid Crystal Society (JLCS) and The International Liquid Crystal Society (ILCS). The Organizing Committee (chaired by Professor Jun Yamamoto from Kyoto University), Local Committee, and Program Committee mainly consisted of JLCS scientists belonging to a university or a company. The International Advisory Board consisting of 11 countries has been established. Unfortunately, the biennial conference was forced to be held online because of COVID-19. The OLC is a historic international conference on liquid crystals and optics that has been held around the world since 1986, and the OLC2021 was the first OLC to be held in Asia. The OLC2021 was originally planned to be held in Bankoku Shinryokan in Okinawa, warm Islands located in the south of Japan, and to be carefully scheduled for the online/on-site hybrid implementation by the Local Committee, while also arranging hotels, conference limousine buses, and so on. However, considering the difficult situations, the OLC2021 was decided to reschedule to a fully online conference in August. Instead, those who were planning to participate on-site were given some goods related to Okinawa (Figure 1). Because the organisers carefully prepared for the online event using Zoom meeting application, I think the online conference went on without any major problems, although there were audio problems and changes in presentation time. Especially, the guidance and setting to the breakout room were smooth in both the oral and poster sessions. Further, one of the merits is that it is not affected by natural disasters (typhoons or earthquakes), which is often seen in Japan. The OLC2021 had 169 participants and 137 papers (39 invited talks, 41 contributed oral presentations and 57 poster presentations) were accepted for discussion. The online presentations were made from the UK, Italy, Slovenia, France, the USA, South Korea, Brazil, China, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Finland, Belgium, Canada, Russia and Japan. Since the OLC2021 was held from morning to evening in Japan Standard Time (JST), most of the people who could actually attend the conference on the entire schedule were from Asian countries, especially Japanese. Here, let me state a personal impression and I would like to raise a question regarding the significance of the international online conference. What I feel regretful about was that there were not so many opinions and questions from international participants at OLC2021. In particular, in the poster presentations, although the sessions were held early in the morning and in the evening considering the participants outside Asia, the audience was almost exclusively Japanese. Therefore, OLC2021 became a place for discussion in English (in some cases, in Japanese) rather than an international discussion. In the oral presentations, most of the listeners and que
{"title":"Report on the 19th optics of liquid crystals conference","authors":"Azumi Akiyama","doi":"10.1080/1358314x.2021.2036432","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1358314x.2021.2036432","url":null,"abstract":"The 19th Optics of Liquid Crystals Conference (OLC2021) was held from 26 September to 1 October 2021 organised by Organizing Committee OLC2021, The Japanese Liquid Crystal Society (JLCS) and The International Liquid Crystal Society (ILCS). The Organizing Committee (chaired by Professor Jun Yamamoto from Kyoto University), Local Committee, and Program Committee mainly consisted of JLCS scientists belonging to a university or a company. The International Advisory Board consisting of 11 countries has been established. Unfortunately, the biennial conference was forced to be held online because of COVID-19. The OLC is a historic international conference on liquid crystals and optics that has been held around the world since 1986, and the OLC2021 was the first OLC to be held in Asia. The OLC2021 was originally planned to be held in Bankoku Shinryokan in Okinawa, warm Islands located in the south of Japan, and to be carefully scheduled for the online/on-site hybrid implementation by the Local Committee, while also arranging hotels, conference limousine buses, and so on. However, considering the difficult situations, the OLC2021 was decided to reschedule to a fully online conference in August. Instead, those who were planning to participate on-site were given some goods related to Okinawa (Figure 1). Because the organisers carefully prepared for the online event using Zoom meeting application, I think the online conference went on without any major problems, although there were audio problems and changes in presentation time. Especially, the guidance and setting to the breakout room were smooth in both the oral and poster sessions. Further, one of the merits is that it is not affected by natural disasters (typhoons or earthquakes), which is often seen in Japan. The OLC2021 had 169 participants and 137 papers (39 invited talks, 41 contributed oral presentations and 57 poster presentations) were accepted for discussion. The online presentations were made from the UK, Italy, Slovenia, France, the USA, South Korea, Brazil, China, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Finland, Belgium, Canada, Russia and Japan. Since the OLC2021 was held from morning to evening in Japan Standard Time (JST), most of the people who could actually attend the conference on the entire schedule were from Asian countries, especially Japanese. Here, let me state a personal impression and I would like to raise a question regarding the significance of the international online conference. What I feel regretful about was that there were not so many opinions and questions from international participants at OLC2021. In particular, in the poster presentations, although the sessions were held early in the morning and in the evening considering the participants outside Asia, the audience was almost exclusively Japanese. Therefore, OLC2021 became a place for discussion in English (in some cases, in Japanese) rather than an international discussion. In the oral presentations, most of the listeners and que","PeriodicalId":18110,"journal":{"name":"Liquid Crystals Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42286206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/1358314X.2021.2036431
Migle Stebryte
ABSTRACT The emerging near-eye displays for see-through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have inspired new applications of optical gratings, for example, as waveguide-coupling components. For such applications, reflective diffraction gratings and reflective lenses based on self-organised chiral liquid crystal (CLC) are strong contenders because of their high diffraction efficiency and unique polarisation selectivity. However, in order to design optical systems that use such components, the optical properties of CLC diffraction gratings need to be thoroughly investigated and understood. In order to better understand the structure and diffraction properties of such components we simulated the behaviour of two cholesteric liquid crystal configurations (planar and slanted) and compared them with experimental results. This paper covers advancements in CLC diffraction grating research, comparison between different theories for the director configuration in the bulk and further investigation of the optical properties of the devices. The evolution of reflective CLC lenses is discussed and lenses with a small f – number are described. In this review paper we show that progress made in the field of CLC-based flat optics has a high potential for AR/VR display systems.
{"title":"Reflective optical components based on chiral liquid crystal for head-up displays","authors":"Migle Stebryte","doi":"10.1080/1358314X.2021.2036431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1358314X.2021.2036431","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The emerging near-eye displays for see-through augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have inspired new applications of optical gratings, for example, as waveguide-coupling components. For such applications, reflective diffraction gratings and reflective lenses based on self-organised chiral liquid crystal (CLC) are strong contenders because of their high diffraction efficiency and unique polarisation selectivity. However, in order to design optical systems that use such components, the optical properties of CLC diffraction gratings need to be thoroughly investigated and understood. In order to better understand the structure and diffraction properties of such components we simulated the behaviour of two cholesteric liquid crystal configurations (planar and slanted) and compared them with experimental results. This paper covers advancements in CLC diffraction grating research, comparison between different theories for the director configuration in the bulk and further investigation of the optical properties of the devices. The evolution of reflective CLC lenses is discussed and lenses with a small f – number are described. In this review paper we show that progress made in the field of CLC-based flat optics has a high potential for AR/VR display systems.","PeriodicalId":18110,"journal":{"name":"Liquid Crystals Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46604791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-07-03DOI: 10.1080/1358314X.2021.2036433
J. Dalby, Sophie McLauchlan
ABSTRACT In this article we give an overview of the Strathclyde Liquid Crystal Reading Group, a new student-led initiative organised by PhD students, and aimed at PhD students and early-stage post-docs, researching in the field of Liquid Crystals. In this article we begin by covering the premise behind the reading group, what we hope to achieve, and describe the structure of the meetings. We then give a detailed summary of the first two meetings of the reading group, touch on some future plans, and finally discuss how successful the reading group has been thus far.
{"title":"The Strathclyde liquid crystal reading group","authors":"J. Dalby, Sophie McLauchlan","doi":"10.1080/1358314X.2021.2036433","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1358314X.2021.2036433","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In this article we give an overview of the Strathclyde Liquid Crystal Reading Group, a new student-led initiative organised by PhD students, and aimed at PhD students and early-stage post-docs, researching in the field of Liquid Crystals. In this article we begin by covering the premise behind the reading group, what we hope to achieve, and describe the structure of the meetings. We then give a detailed summary of the first two meetings of the reading group, touch on some future plans, and finally discuss how successful the reading group has been thus far.","PeriodicalId":18110,"journal":{"name":"Liquid Crystals Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2021-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49431422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/1358314x.2021.1991701
Magdalena Leśniewska
{"title":"Report of the British Liquid Crystal Society annual meeting online, 21st – 24th June 2021","authors":"Magdalena Leśniewska","doi":"10.1080/1358314x.2021.1991701","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1358314x.2021.1991701","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18110,"journal":{"name":"Liquid Crystals Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42676594","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/1358314X.2021.1991695
Y. Panarin, C. Tschierske, J. Vij
ABSTRACT Comments and the work presented in this paper aim at initiating discussion within the liquid crystalline community about the nature of different biaxial phases and their switching mechanisms. The mechanisms have the potential for applications in switching devices for displays and photonics. Claire Meyer et. al. interestingly report recently a fast Freedericksz-like transition of the secondary director in the biaxial Smectic Ab phase of a mixture of two compounds. Fast switching in liquid crystals occurs through a coupling of the biaxiality with the electric field. To realise this potential, one of the major goals of the liquid crystal community had been to discover biaxial nematic liquid crystals. In a biaxial liquid crystalline phase, the refractive indices along the three orthogonal axes are all different [n11≠ n22 ≠ n33] as opposed to these being different only along the two orthogonal directions n11 ≠ n22 = n33 in uniaxial nematics. In this notation 1, 2 and 3 are the three orthogonal axes that coincide with the major and the two minor directors. The biaxial nematic phase has been elusive for over half a Century. It has therefore proven to be almost impossible to meet the goal of achieving fast switching using biaxial nematics. Ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystals were discovered in 1975 and 1989 by R. Meyer in the USA and Atsuo Fukuda in Japan, respectively, for fast switching. These have been used in devices for niche but limited high-resolution applications as the devices using these liquid crystals suffered not only from achieving proper alignment at surfaces but also showed poor recovery of alignment following repeated cycles of switching.
{"title":"Switching in a Biaxial Smectic A - like Phase","authors":"Y. Panarin, C. Tschierske, J. Vij","doi":"10.1080/1358314X.2021.1991695","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1358314X.2021.1991695","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Comments and the work presented in this paper aim at initiating discussion within the liquid crystalline community about the nature of different biaxial phases and their switching mechanisms. The mechanisms have the potential for applications in switching devices for displays and photonics. Claire Meyer et. al. interestingly report recently a fast Freedericksz-like transition of the secondary director in the biaxial Smectic Ab phase of a mixture of two compounds. Fast switching in liquid crystals occurs through a coupling of the biaxiality with the electric field. To realise this potential, one of the major goals of the liquid crystal community had been to discover biaxial nematic liquid crystals. In a biaxial liquid crystalline phase, the refractive indices along the three orthogonal axes are all different [n11≠ n22 ≠ n33] as opposed to these being different only along the two orthogonal directions n11 ≠ n22 = n33 in uniaxial nematics. In this notation 1, 2 and 3 are the three orthogonal axes that coincide with the major and the two minor directors. The biaxial nematic phase has been elusive for over half a Century. It has therefore proven to be almost impossible to meet the goal of achieving fast switching using biaxial nematics. Ferroelectric and antiferroelectric liquid crystals were discovered in 1975 and 1989 by R. Meyer in the USA and Atsuo Fukuda in Japan, respectively, for fast switching. These have been used in devices for niche but limited high-resolution applications as the devices using these liquid crystals suffered not only from achieving proper alignment at surfaces but also showed poor recovery of alignment following repeated cycles of switching.","PeriodicalId":18110,"journal":{"name":"Liquid Crystals Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47497414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/1358314X.2021.1991702
Yuan Shen
B. Senyuk, A. Mozaffari, K. Crust, R. Zhang, J. J. de Pablo, and I. I. Smalyukh, Science Advances, 7, eabg0377, 2021. From foods and drinks to health and personal care products, emulsions are common but import to our daily life. Nematic emulsions composed of nematic liquid crystals and other liquids have attracted great attention due to their potential applications in many areas ranging from bio-detection to smart windows, which mainly rely on changes of molecular alignment structures around the drops in response to chemical, thermal, electric, and other stimuli. In this work, the authors show that absorption or desorption of trace amounts of common surfactants can drive continuous transformations of elastic multipoles induced by the droplets within the uniformly aligned nematic host. Out-of-equilibrium dynamics of director structures emerge from a controlled selfassembly or desorption of different surfactants at the drop-nematic interfaces, with ensuing forward and reverse transformations between elastic dipoles, quadrupoles, octupoles, and hexadecapoles. The authors also characterise inter-transformations of droplet-induced surface and bulk defects, probe elastic pair interactions, and discuss emergent prospects for fundamental science and applications of the reconfigurable nematic emulsions.
{"title":"Research news","authors":"Yuan Shen","doi":"10.1080/1358314X.2021.1991702","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/1358314X.2021.1991702","url":null,"abstract":"B. Senyuk, A. Mozaffari, K. Crust, R. Zhang, J. J. de Pablo, and I. I. Smalyukh, Science Advances, 7, eabg0377, 2021. From foods and drinks to health and personal care products, emulsions are common but import to our daily life. Nematic emulsions composed of nematic liquid crystals and other liquids have attracted great attention due to their potential applications in many areas ranging from bio-detection to smart windows, which mainly rely on changes of molecular alignment structures around the drops in response to chemical, thermal, electric, and other stimuli. In this work, the authors show that absorption or desorption of trace amounts of common surfactants can drive continuous transformations of elastic multipoles induced by the droplets within the uniformly aligned nematic host. Out-of-equilibrium dynamics of director structures emerge from a controlled selfassembly or desorption of different surfactants at the drop-nematic interfaces, with ensuing forward and reverse transformations between elastic dipoles, quadrupoles, octupoles, and hexadecapoles. The authors also characterise inter-transformations of droplet-induced surface and bulk defects, probe elastic pair interactions, and discuss emergent prospects for fundamental science and applications of the reconfigurable nematic emulsions.","PeriodicalId":18110,"journal":{"name":"Liquid Crystals Today","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48298930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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