CHOLESTERIC GELS FORMED BY LC MOLECULES AND THEIR USE IN OPTICAL STORAGE

Two-component liquid crystalline (LC) mixtures containing LC diacrylat es and chiral molecules with no reactive groups were made. Upon photop olymerization of the mixtures cholestric networks containing LC molecu les which were not chemically attached to the networks were created. B y heating, molecules which were not chemically attached to the network could be removed leaving behind a three dimensional network with a he lical structure containing no chiral molecules and changed optical pro perties. The changes in the optical properties of the system could als o be induced locally using a laser beam, demonstrating the possibility of using the method for optical storage.