The work was developed in the directions related to each other through the common physical mechanism of the basic processes, namely, electric field and light induced molecular reorientation.
- Study of poled polymers, either functionalized or doped with dyes;
- Study of non-linear properties in a bulk of liquid crystals and Langmuir-Blodgett films;
- Investigation of active solid interfaces for orientation of liquid crystals.
Special attention has been paid to:
- investigation of antiferroelectric achiral mesogenic polymers possessing very high
pyroelectric figure of merit (Blinov's and Haase's group);
-preparation and investigation of first two-dimensional ferroelectric systems-ultrathin polymer Langmuir-Blodgett films (Blinov's group);
-development of Stark-spectroscopy technique for characterization of the non-linear properties of materials (Blinov's and Haase's group);
theoretical and experimental investigation of photoinduced optical reorientation (Blinov's, Barnik's, Durand's groups);
-STM imaging of Langmuir-Blodgett monolayers, ferroelectric polymers included (Blinov's group);
- investigation of photoinduced director orientation in absorbing and non-absorbing liquid crystals in powerful laser beam (Barnik's group with participation of Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow);
- investigation of liquid crystal alignment by photo-processed and rubbed polymer films (Barnik's group);
-investigation of polymer network stabilized liquid crystalline structures (Barnik's group).