From millimeters to microns: a hybrid strategy for reconfigurable liquid‐crystal patterning

Journal article

Programmable patterning of nematic liquid crystals (LCs) enables spatially encoded optical functionality, but existing approaches often face trade-offs between patterned area, feature fidelity, dimensionality, and device integration. Many methods rely on surface alignment, electrode patterning, or global illumination, limiting local addressability, depth control, or scalability. Field-assisted polymerization of reactive mesogens offers a means to capture designed LC director configurations as permanent, structurally encoded profiles. Here, we report a hybrid strategy combining wide-field one-photon polymerization (1PP) for rapid, large-area templating with two-photon polymerization direct laser writing (2PP-DLW) for localized, maskless microstructuring with depth control. This decoupling of patterned area from feature fidelity allows multiple, spatially co-located director profiles to be encoded within a single glass cell, enabling voltage-selective visibility and reconfigurable optical responses. Local 2PP-DLW features define confinement boundaries and deterministic defect nucleation and guidance, while 1PP establishes the global architecture with high throughput. Because patterning is encoded in the polymer rather than electrode geometry, complex profiles can be realized using uniform electrodes. In a nematic Pi-cell, this approach enables controlled defect channeling, programmable topological transitions, and multistate optical patterns, offering a scalable route to high-fidelity reconfigurable LC micro-optics.

Authors: Pradeep, A; Montelongo, Y; Ma, J-S; Xu, Z; Wang, T

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: small methods
• Publication date: 2026-02-18
• Acceptance date: 2026-02-10
• DOI: 10.1002/smtd.202501892
• EISSN: 2366-9608
• ISSN: 2366-9608
• Language: English
• Keywords: two-photon polymerization; direct laser writing; liquid crystals; large-area Fabrication; high-resolution structures