Structure and grating efficiency of thin cells filled by a twist-bend nematic liquid crystal

A twist-bend nematic (N-TB) liquid crystalline phase spontaneously forms modulated structures on a microscale level when confined in thin planar cells. Preliminary studies showed that these cells can be used as polarization gratings. Here we present a theoretical description of the formation of a two-dimensionally modulated structure. By considering the N-TB phase as a pseudolayer medium, a threshold condition for the onset of a modulated structure is calculated for weak and strong boundary conditions in the case of initially bookshelf or pretilt alignment of pseudolayers. Based on the modeled structure we determine spatial variation of the optic axis and calculate properties of the transmitted diffracted light. Results of the beam propagation method (BPM) and transfer matrix method are compared and it is shown that a more complex BPM gives better agreement with experimental results, meaning that even in thin cells the diffraction of light inside the grating should not be neglected.