Abstract

A new technique to measure the principal refractive indexes of a nematic liquid crystal is presented. The method is based on an indirect measurement of the refraction angle by determining the direction of a magnetic field which minimizes the light scattering. With this technique one can perform different light scattering experiments, which require a knowledge of the refractive indexes, on the same crystal slab. The accuracy is better than ±0.15%. A discussion about the systematic error due to the distortion of the director profile near the holder edges and the relative correction is given.

© 1982 Optical Society of America

Refractive index of nematic liquid crystals in the submillimeter wave region

Toshiaki Nose, Susumu Sato, Koji Mizuno, Jongsuck Bae, and Tatsuo Nozokido
Appl. Opt. 36(25) 6383-6387 (1997)

Absorption and scattering measurements of nematic liquid crystals

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Measurement of the complex refractive-index spectrum for birefringent and absorptive liquids

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Focusing by electrical modulation of refraction in a liquid crystal cell

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Complex refractive-index spectrum of liquid crystal in the infrared

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