Homeotropic alignment change for discotics in plastic columnar mesophase by infrared irradiation

Infrared-induced alignment change of liquid crystal domains was investigated for plastic columnar mesophase of a liquid crystalline triphenylene derivative. A homeotropic alignment change of domains was observed when a circularly polarized infrared light with the same wavelength was irradiated. The results strongly imply that the infrared irradiation is a possible technique for device fabrication by use of plastic columnar mesophase as a liquid crystalline semiconductor.