Three-dimensional imaging of liquid crystal structures and defects by means of holographic manipulation of colloidal nanowires with faceted sidewalls

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2011

We use nanowires with faceted sidewalls for mapping of the patterns of three-dimensional orientational order and defect structures. In chiral nematics, the nanowires follow the local average orientation of rod-shaped molecules. When spatially translated by use of holographic optical tweezers in three dimensions, they mediate direct nondestructive visualization of the helicoidal ground-state structures, edge and screw dislocations, and kinks, as well as enable non-contact manipulation of these defects. We probe interactions of faceted nanowires with different defects and demonstrate their spontaneous self-alignment along the cores of singular defect lines.