Nonlinear bending of molecular films by polarized light

TL;DR

This paper develops a nonlinear elasticity theory to explain how polarized light induces directed bending in molecular films, showing the shape depends on light polarization and intensity, with curvature varying non-monotonically with extinction coefficient.

Contribution

It introduces a novel nonlinear elasticity model for photoinduced bending in molecular films considering molecular ordering and light polarization effects.

Findings

Film shape depends on light polarization and intensity.

Curvature varies non-monotonically with extinction coefficient.

The theory predicts non-crystalline molecular film behavior under polarized light.

Abstract

A theory of photoinduced directed bending of non-crystalline molecular films is presented. Our approach is based on elastic deformation of the film due to interaction between molecules ordered through polarized light irradiation. The shape of illuminated film is obtained in the frame of the nonlinear elasticity theory. It is shown that the shape and the curvature of the film depend on the polarization and intensity of the light. The curvature of an irradiated film is a non-monotonic function of the extinction coefficient.