High-birefringence materials using metal-containing liquid crystals

Abstract

In this paper we report the measurement of the birefringence of a range of metallo-mesogens, the metals incorporated being palladium, silver and iridium. The birefringences are determined by two methods: approximate values are determined from a wedge cell, and accurate values are measured using a modulated optical interference method. The materials investigated were found to have high birefringences, in some cases greater than 0.3, and supercooling to lower temperatures could lead to materials of even higher optical anisotropy.