화학공학소재연구정보센터
Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.477, 517-535, 2007
Confocal microscopy of director structures in strongly confined and composite systems
We review approaches for simultaneous imaging of three-dimensional director structures and component distributions in composite materials using fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy. To study dynamic processes in these systems, we use the Nipkow-disk microscope in which the confocal images are obtained within milliseconds. The visualized director fields, free-standing film profiles, and ordered colloidal structures provide insights into the physics phenomena ranging from elasticity-mediated self-organization to anchoring-assisted levitation and dynamics of micron-sized spheres.