Cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) has attracted intensive attention due to its ability to form a periodic helical structure with broad tunability. CLC gratings in open systems are especially promising in sensing and micromanipulation. However, there is still much to learn about the inherent mechanism of such gratings. We investigate the light-driven rotation and pitch-tuning behaviors of CLC gratings in semi-free films which are formed by spin-coating the CLC mixtures onto planarly photoaligned substrates. The doped azobenzene chiral molecular switch supplies great flexibility to realize the continuous grating rotation. The maximum continuous rotational angle reaches 987.8°. Moreover, dependencies of light-driven rotation and pitch tuning on the dopant concentration and exposure are studied. The model of director configuration in the semi-free film is constructed. Precise beam steering and synchronous micromanipulation are also demonstrated. Our work may provide new opportunities for the CLC grating in applications of beam steering, micromanipulation, and sensing.
Keywords: beam steering; cholesteric liquid crystal; isomerization; light-driven; micromanipulation; photoalignment; self-assembly; semi-free film.