Helical liquid crystalline element which produces linear polarized light

US5301045A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Consortium für elektrochemische Industrie GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Alfred Miller · Martinsried, DE
• Franz-Heinrich Kreuzer · Martinsried, DE
• Horst Leigeber · Oberhaching, DE
• Christoph Brauchle · Hersbruck, DE
• Andreas Petri · Hersbruck, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 15, 1992
• Grant date: Apr 5, 1994
• Expiry date: Oct 15, 2012

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G11B7/24
• WIPO field: Basic materials chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The invention relates to optical elements based on helical liquid-crystalline substances, having reflection bands of linear-polarized light, and to a process for preparing the same. The optical elements of this invention contain only one optically effective component based on helical liquid-crystalline substances. They reflect light incident perpendicular to the surface in a linear-polarized manner parallel to the direction of incidence of the incident light. The process for preparing the optical elements comprises illuminating a helical liquid-crystalline substance which contains at least one photoisomerizable substance with linear-polarized light in such a manner that this substance is subsequently aligned so that it exhibits at least one reflection band of linear-polarized light on illumination. Suitable helical liquid-crystalline substances are in particular organopolysiloxanes. The optical elements are suitable, for example, for data storage.