Journal
MOLECULAR CRYSTALS AND LIQUID CRYSTALS
Volume 450, Issue -, Pages 279-295Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/15421400600587787
Keywords
disclination; fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy; laser tweezers; liquid crystal; optical manipulation
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We demonstrate optical trapping and manipulation of defects and transparent microspheres in nematic liquid crystals (LCs). The three-dimensional director fields and positions of the particles are visualized using the Fluorescence Confocal Polarizing Microscopy. We show that the disclinations of both half-integer and integer strengths can be manipulated by either using optically trapped colloidal particles or directly by tightly- focused laser beams. We employ this effect to measure the line tensions of disclinations; the measured line tension is in a good agreement with theoretical predictions. The laser trapping of colloidal particles and defects opens new possibilities for the fundamental studies of LCs.
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