Hysteresis Phenomena and the Effect of Reorientation in a Polymer-Liquid Crystal System Under the Influence of Laser Radiation and Uniaxial Deformation

Abstract

The orientational structure in a polymer-liquid crystal thin film induced by uniaxial mechanical deformation has been studied. It is shown that the dependence of the deflection angle of the director of a nematic liquid crystal on the direction of the tensile force has a hysteresis region in which the orientation structure spontaneously changes from a state with positive torsion of the director to a state with negative torsion. It is established that the effect of modification of the hysteresis loop leads to an expansion of the hysteresis region and a decrease in the field at which orientation bistability appears.