Nanopatterning of Polymer/Gallium Oxide Thin Films by UV-Curing Nanoimprint Lithography for Liquid Crystal Alignment

Abstract

A liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer was created using the nanoimprint lithography method and ultraviolet (UV) curing. A hybrid film of a solution of gallium oxide (GaO) and a UV-curing polymer was coated on a substrate and cured by UV irradiation. After that, an LC cell was manufactured by assembling two films by an antiparallel method. The LC orientation characteristics and the surface were analyzed by varying the curing time. The molecular composition of the coated film surface was confirmed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nanopattern formation was observed through atomic force microscopy. The LC alignment characteristics were analyzed by polarized optical microscopy and pretilt angle measurements, and thermal stability tests were performed. It was confirmed that the refractive index anisotropy and van der Waals forces based on the nanopattern formation enabled a homogeneous and uniform alignment of the LC molecules; further, it was found that the GaO hybrid film was suitable for use as an LC alignment layer.

Wrinkled Interfaces: Taking Advantage of Anisotropic Wrinkling to Periodically Pattern Polymer Surfaces

“…Anisotropic wrinkling exploiting the anisotropic nature of LCP has been found to provide another alternative of physical self‐assembly to fabricate periodic microstructures. [ 170 , 171 , 172 , 173 ] LCP, which incorporates anisotropic mesogenic groups into polymer chains, is a polymer having liquid crystal (LC) state in molecular ordering, and it exhibits both high mobility and excellent anisotropic characteristics in the LC state. As a result of its anisotropic nature, it has been used in the microfabrication of oriented wrinkled surfaces.…”

Nano‐Biotechnology and Challenges of Drug Delivery System in Cancer Treatment Pathway: Review Article

“…a) In one dimension : One‐dimensional systems, such as thin films, manufactured surfaces, or coatings, are one‐dimensional nano‐materials [5] . Their features and applications can be mentioned as follows:…”

A liquid metal-based process for tuning the thermoelectric properties of bismuth indium systems

“…This decrease of temperature, especially in the case of post transition metal mixes, allows for manipulations at lowered temperatures, which decreases the process cost and also offers compatibility with the majority of metals, and even some organic compounds. [23][24][25][26][27] Additionally, lowered temperature allows for manipulations, compatible with the majority of accessible characterization equipment. 28,29 In this regard, the creation of binary and tertiary metallic crystals and their tuning can be implemented through liquid metal-based mixing and solidification processes, which are facile and much less expensive in comparison to other methods.…”