Patent ID: 8866997

Claim:
A method, comprising: on a substrate surface, providing a first alignment layer for liquid crystal alignment, the first alignment layer defining at least one respective alignment direction, wherein the first alignment layer comprises a respective photo-orientable polymer network (PPN); forming a first liquid crystal polymer (LCP) layer proximate the first alignment layer so that liquid crystal material of the first liquid crystal polymer layer is aligned with respect to the at least one alignment direction, wherein the first liquid crystal polymer includes at least a first guest material that aligns with the liquid crystal material, and wherein the first guest material comprises a fluorescent dye, an organic semiconductor, an anisotropic nanocrystal, a nucleic acid, a protein, or carbon nanotubes; forming a first barrier layer on the first LCP layer; providing a second alignment layer proximate the first barrier layer, the second alignment layer defining at least one respective alignment direction and comprising a respective PPN; forming a second LCP layer proximate the second alignment layer so that liquid crystal material of the second LCP layer is aligned with the at least one alignment direction of the second LCP, wherein the second LCP layer includes a second guest material that aligns with the liquid crystal material of the second LCP layer; and forming a second barrier layer on the second LCP layer.