Optically generated adaptive localized structures in confined chiral liquid crystals doped with fullerene

We report the facile optical creation of switchable localized structures in chiral liquid crystals doped with fullerene. In a cholesteric cell unwound by vertical boundary conditions, the initially dispersed fullerenes are deposited from the bulk to the surface of confining glass plates by low-intensity illumination. This alters the surface boundary conditions and allows for the creation of localized particlelike structures with twist-bound defects (dubbed Torons) that are controlled by electric fields and arranged into patterns of interest for photonic and electro-optic applications. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3518477]