Liquid Crystal Superstructures: Surface‐Mediated Alignment of Long Pitch Chiral Nematic Liquid Crystal Structures (Advanced Optical Materials 13/2018)

In article number 1800070, Jeroen Beeckman and co-workers have applied surface topography to steer the directional growth of long pitch chiral nematic liquid crystal structures. A periodic grating is created by e-beam lithography and gives rise to micrometer-scale periodic variations of the surface anchoring. The surface topography is combined with an applied electric field to steer the growth of cholesteric fingers, and the liquid crystal director configuration in the cells is simulated.