Fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy: Imaging liquid crystal director fields in three dimensions

Conventional polarizing microscopy allows only information from two dimensions, on account of optical integration along the path of light propagation. Real three-dimensional imaging of orientational order has now become possible with fluorescence confocal polarizing microscopy. This technique provides a useful tool in the visualization of director fields in liquid crystal cells, as schematically shown in the picture, and will be of great potential in the study of director distributions in defect structures of anisotropic fluids.