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Title

High-efficiency optical transfer of torque to a nematic liquid crystal droplet

Author(s)

Juodkazis, Saulius;  Matsuo, Shigeki;  Murazawa, Naoki;  Hasegawa, Ichiro;  Misawa, Hiroaki

Abstract

We report on the determination of the difference in the refractive index between the ordinary and extraordinary rays in droplets of nematic liquid crystal E-44 at the wavelength of laser trapping, 1064 nm. This difference was calculated by measuring the ellipticity of laser tweezers for the moment at which rotation of the trapped droplet starts. The precision of this determination of the refractive index difference is approximately 5×10−3. Hydrophobic nematic liquid crystal E-44 formed 0.5–5-μm droplets when cast into D2O. The efficiency of the transfer of light torque to the liquid crystal droplets was determined to be 70% for the no-slip-boundary condition.

Publication type

Journal article

Source

Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 82, no. 26 (Jun 2003), pp. 4657-4659

Publication year

2003

FOR Code(s)

02 Physical Sciences;  09 Engineering

Keyword(s)

Droplets;  Laser trapping;  Nematic liquid crystal;  Optical transfer;  Refractive index;  Torque

Publisher

American Institute of Physics

ISSN

0003-6951

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1588366

Copyright

Copyright © 2003 American Institute of Physics. Published version reproduced here with the kind permission of the publisher.

Full text

Peer reviewed