Azimuthal anchoring energies of photoaligned nematic liquid crystals produced by small dosages of linearly polarized UV light

Abstract

We have measured the azimuthal anchoring energies between the nematic liquid crystal and the alignment material surface exposed to linearly polarized UV (LPUV) light at small dosages. We have confirmed that a linear relationship exists between the azimuthal anchoring energy and the energy of the LPUV light that the alignment material was exposed to. The plot of the relationship passes through the origin, and this is direct evidence that the nematic liquid crystal alignment was caused only by the LPUV exposure of the alignment material.