Observation of Nematic Liquid Crystal Director Reorientation at the Interface between Substrate and Liquid Crystal Layer by Total Reflection Ellipsometry

The liquid crystal (LC) director reorientation near the interface between the substrate and the LC layer was studied using total reflection ellipsometry (TRE). The dynamic and static responses of the ellipsometric angles to the electric field were measured by TRE. It was experimentally confirmed that total reflection occurs in the LC cell. The reflected light is dominantly modified by the interfacial LC director reorientation. The polar anchoring strength of the cell was estimated by analyzing the electrical response of the phase difference response. We confirm that the TRE is useful for studying the LC director reorientation near the interface between the substrate and the LC layer.