Robots and cameras of the future could be made of liquid crystals, thanks to a new discovery that significantly expands the potential of the chemicals already common in computer displays and digital watches.
The findings, a simple and inexpensive way to manipulate the molecular properties of liquid crystals with light exposure, are now published in Advanced Materials.
"Using our method, any lab with a microscope and a set of lenses can arrange the liquid crystal alignment in any pattern they'd want," said author Alvin Modin, a doctoral researcher studying physics at Johns Hopkins. "Industrial labs and manufacturers could probably adopt the method in a day."
Liquid crystal molecules flow like a liquid, but they have a common orientation like in solids, and this orientation can change in response to stimuli. They are useful in LCD screens, biomedical imaging instruments, and other devices that require precise control of light and subtle movements. But controlling their alignment in three dimensions requires costly and complicated techniques, Modin said.
The team, which includes Johns Hopkins physics professor Robert Leheny and assistant research professor Francesca Serra, discovered they could manipulate the three-dimensional orientation of liquid crystals by controlling light exposures of a photosensitive material deposited on glass.
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