Studying nematic liquid crystals by spectroscopic ellipsometry

The optical characterization of liquid crystals, in a wide spectral range, is becoming a very important technical task because of their expanding applications in displays, optical telecommunications and other advanced areas of science and engineering. One of the most versatile, sensitive, and well-established technique for the optical characterization of solid and liquid materials is spectroscopic ellipsometry. In this paper, an outline is presented on the use of ellipsometry for nematic liquid-crystal characterization: anisotropic refractive-indices measurements and their temperature dependence, anchoring energy, and tilt distribution inside cells will be discussed. The paper is an extended version of a previously published paper.