A liquid crystal opto-optical switch: nondestructive information retrieval based on a photochromic fulgide as trigger

SZ Janicki, GB Schuster

Index: Janicki, Slawomir Z.; Schuster, Gary B. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1995 , vol. 117, # 33 p. 8524 - 8527

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Citation Number: 104

Abstract

Abstract: Liquid crystals are a unique medium for sensing small structural changes in their environment. Cholesteric liquid crystals respond to these forces by changing their pitch. A photochromic dopant in a cholesteric liquid crystal was used to translate optical input to observable pitch change. The change is reversible solely by action of light, and a cyclic mode of operation is demonstrated. The information encoded by light can be read ...