Confocal microscopy study of texture transitions in a polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal

The switching transition of polymer stabilized cholesteric texture liquid crystals is studied via confocal microscopy. This noninvasive probe enables the simultaneous imaging of the polymer network and the liquid crystal domain structure. We find that the two-stage switching often occurring in these systems results from the cholesteric experiencing two distinct environments: one consisting of very low polymer density, and the other strongly dominated by the polymer network. Fluctuations in the local polymer density produce effective random fields that broaden the transition. © 1997 American Physical Society.