| This paper according to the polymer side-aliphatic chains on the influence of liquid crystalmolecules arrangement, and proposed a simplified model of the nano-structured polymericsurface. This model was characterized by a one-dimensional periodic stripe patterned surfacewith alternate planar and homeotropic anchoring. We investigate the effect of both the couplingof nematic liquid crystals with alignment layer polymers and the coupling of the polymers withthe substrate surface, on the anchoring of nematic liquid crystals at such a surface, using theextended anisotropic surface energy form proposed by Alexe-Ionescu et al and the Fourier seriessolution about the directors distribution proposed by Atherton et al.In our theoretical treatment, we assume the equal anchoring strength of the two anchoringregions. Our results show that the coupling of the polymer with the surface will affect thedirector field of the nematic, and reduce the relaxation distance as well as the total free energy ofthe system. |
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