Surface-patterning generated half-skyrmion lattices in cholesteric blue phase thin films

Abstract

Liquid crystalline blue phase II sandwiched between a pair of confining surfaces with specifically designed patterns is studied using numerical simulation based on the Landau-de Gennes phenomenological approach. Affected by the surface patterns, quasi-two dimensional half-Skyrmion lattices form. Specifically we observe the formation of square and triangular lattices of half-Skyrmions. These lattices of the swirling skyrmion textures are interspersed with singular-1/2 or-1 line defects which also constitute quasi-two dimensional regular lattices. Finally, this work is a contribution to designing and stabilising complex birefringent layer profiles of various symmetries.

Liquid Crystalline Half‐Skyrmions and Their Optical Properties

“…Although self-organization of nontrivial structures in a simple setup is interesting in its own right, more complex setup, particularly by surface patterning and/or non-planar surface geometry, brings about a richer possibility of arranging and manipulating (half-)Skyrmions. [155][156][157][158][159] Such broader freedom of the arrangement of (half-)Skyrmions could find applications, in particular optical ones as we will mention below.…”