Stable particle-like molecular architectures are written in a frustrated chiral-nematic liquid crystal using a vortex laser beam. This fundamentally new mechanism to form toroidal features with anisotropic optical properties has great potential to create new applications in liquid-crystal photonics.
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Broer, D. Defects dictated. Nature Mater 9, 99–100 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2617
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2617