Photoalignment is an important technique for the fabrication of liquid crystal devices. This method enables the liquid crystal molecules to be aligned by linearly polarized ultraviolet light. Polyvinylcinnamate is a photoreactive polymer and allows for a control of liquid crystal alignment due to the photoinduced optical anisotropy. In this paper the results of the influence of linearly polarized ultraviolet laser light on the surface properties of thin polyvinylcinnamate films are reported.
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