Manipulation of colloids by optical and electrical control of disclination lines in liquid crystals

Abstract We report two viable strategies to assemble and manipulate arrays of nano- and micro-particles by means of topological defects (TDs) in anisotropic fluids. Exploiting different boundary conditions, single TD, 1D arrays of TDs are tailored in liquid crystal twist cells. In a first approach, light-guided control of particles captured in disclination lines is demonstrated involving the use of a photosensitive chiral dopant within a nematic host. In the second one, an applied voltage enables a continuous displacement and deformation of the particles arrays. The reported results open up new possibilities for managing nano- and micro-metric objects over large distances.