Institute of Molecular Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences

1. Equipment for investigations of the optical properties

1. Olympus Fluoview 1000 IX83 confocal microscope
   
   

   The dye molecules are excited using diode laser (λ = 473 nm) with the beam power equal to 1.24 mW. The fluorescence signal is detected in the spectral range 490 - 540 nm. A pinhole discriminates against the regions above and below the selected volume. The pinhole size is adjusted depending on magnification and numerical aperture of the objective.
   To obtain the 3D image of the whole sample, the focused beam scans the sample in the horizontal plane (xy-directions) and then mechanical refocusing at different depth (z-direction) in the sample and repeating the horizontal scanning. Each horizontal scan produces a thin ‘optical slice’ with thickness determined by the resolution of FCPM. The intensity of fluorescence as the function of coordinates is measured and stored in the computer memory.

2. Polarizing microscope BX53 firmy Olympus
   
   

   Experimental set-up for microscopic study of textures, phase transitions in temperature range 300 K–500 K with an accuracy of ± 0.01 K.

3. Spectrophotometer UV-VIS-NIR model V-670 (JASCO)
   
   

   Equipment for optical spectroscopy in wavelenght range 190-2700 nm.

4. Experimental set-up for investigations of birefringence of LC.
   (Hinds PEM 100 Photoelastic Modulator)
   
   

Equipment for dielectric measurements

Temperature range 300 K–500 K with an accuracy of ± 0.01 K.

1. Experimental setup I for dielectric and electrooptic measurements
   (Impedance Analyzer HP 4192A + Lock-in voltmeter SR 850).
   
   • frequency range for dielectric measurements - 5 Hz–10 MHz,
   • frequency range for electrooptic measurements - 5 Hz–100 kHz.
   
2. Experimental setup II for dielectric and electrooptic measurements
   (Impedance Analyzer Wayne Kerr 6440B + Lock-in voltmeter SR 530).
   
   • frequency range for dielectric measurements - 5 Hz–3 MHz,
   • measurements voltage 0.1 V – 10 V,
   • frequency range for electrooptic measurements - 5 Hz–100 kHz.
   
3. Experimental set-up III for investigations of spontaneous polarization and switching current of LC in frequency range
   • frequency range – 0.05 Hz–10 kHz,
   • measurements voltage - 2 V – 400 V.
   

Additional equipment

High speed video system Olympus i-SPEED 2

For each experimental setup, the Olympus high speed camera can be attached.
The speed of the microscopic image registration -2000-3000 frame/s.