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Laser-Induced Pretransitional Ordering And Nonlinear Optical Properties Of Rigid-Rod Polymer Suspensions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2011

Boris E. Vugmeister
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Lehigh University, 16 Memorial Drive East, Bethlehem, PA 18015
Michelle S. Malcuit
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Lehigh University, 16 Memorial Drive East, Bethlehem, PA 18015
John C. Kralik
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Lehigh University, 16 Memorial Drive East, Bethlehem, PA 18015
Colleen Stevens
Affiliation:
Physics Department, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057
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Abstract

We investigate the pretransitional behavior in laser-induced alignment of rigid rod-like polytetraflouroethylene (PTFE) suspensions. Using a laser-induced birefringence experiment, we measure both the orientational order parameter and the orientational relaxation time. We find that both increase as the volume fraction of colloidal particles approaches the critical value for the isotropic-nematic phase transition. Experimental results are compared with theory which takes into account the possibility of a first-order phase transition induced by a laser electric field.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1994

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References

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