A substrate coated with an achiral polyimide alignment layer was scribed bidirectionally with the stylus of an atomic force microscope to create an easy axis for liquid crystal orientation. The resulting noncentrosymmetric topography resulted in a chiral surface that manifests itself at the molecular level. To show this unambiguously, a planar-aligned negative dielectric aniostropy achiral nematic liquid crystal was placed in contact with the surface and subjected to an electric field E. The nematic director was found to undergo an azimuthal rotation approximately linear in E. This so-called "surface electroclinic effect" is a signature of surface chirality and was not observed when the polyimide was treated for a centrosymmetric topography, and therefore was nonchiral.
Nanoparticle scattering layer based on polymer-metal oxide composite is successfully introduced to enhance the light extraction efficiency of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). We find that the density and the distribution of nanoparticles is the key factor to maximize the light extraction efficiency of pristine OLEDs by out-coupling the unusable light with the scattering film. In our experiment, 71 wt% of Al(2)O(3) mixed with polymer matrix shows the increase of light extraction efficiency of 40%. This method is expected to play a critical role to create the low-power OLED application such as OLED lightings with simple fabrication process and low cost.
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