Imaging of director fields in liquid crystals using stimulated Raman scattering microscopy

Opt Express. 2013 May 20;21(10):12129-34. doi: 10.1364/OE.21.012129.

Abstract

We demonstrate an approach for background-free three-dimensional imaging of director fields in liquid crystals using stimulated Raman scattering microscopy. This imaging technique is implemented using a single femtosecond pulsed laser and a photonic crystal fiber, providing Stokes and pump frequencies needed to access Raman shifts of different chemical bonds of molecules and allowing for chemically selective and broadband imaging of both pristine liquid crystals and composite materials. Using examples of model three-dimensional structures of director fields, we show that the described technique is a powerful tool for mapping of long-range molecular orientation patterns in soft matter via polarized chemical-selective imaging.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Fiber Optic Technology / instrumentation*
  • Lasers*
  • Liquid Crystals / chemistry*
  • Liquid Crystals / radiation effects*
  • Materials Testing
  • Microscopy / instrumentation*
  • Refractometry / instrumentation*
  • Spectrum Analysis, Raman / instrumentation*