Surfaces modifications in functional layers for liquid crystal devices

Physical materials technology
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Abstract:

In the current research, the influence of the single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the alignment and anti-reflective properties of the indium-tin oxides (ITO) was considered. The formation of the composite thin films based on  ITO with CNTs was provided by the laseroriented deposition with the CO2 laser. The average electrical strength during the deposition of the CNTs varied in the range of 100–600 V/cm. Morphology of the structures compared via the  surface free energy (SFE) with the Owens-Wendt method. Optical properties of the ITO modifications were compared by the ellipsometry via the Lorentz model using. According to comparison, deposited CNTs provide the reduce of  the polar component of SFE caused by the surface passivation and to rise of the dispersive component of SFE caused by an impact of the Van der Waals forces. Moreover, based on the refractive index comparison, CNTs lead to the  decrease of the reflection losses between ITO and the liquid crystal mesophase. Thus, the transparent contacts based on ITO with CNTs could be considered as the tunable alignment and the antireflection layers of the nematic  liquid crystal devices, so, the architecture of the related devices could be simplified.