CONFOCAL MICROSCOPY STUDY OF TEXTURE TRANSITIONS IN A POLYMER STABILIZED CHOLESTERIC LIQUID-CRYSTAL

The switching transition of polymer stabilized cholesteric texture liq uid crystals is studied via confocal microscopy. This noninvasive prob e enables the simultaneous imaging of the polymer network and the liqu id crystal domain structure. We find that the two-stage switching ofte n 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. Fluctuation s in the local polymer density produce effective random fields that br oaden the transition.