Control of the optical band structure of liquid crystal infiltrated inverse opal by a photoinduced nematic-isotropic phase transition

Recently, photonic band gap (PBG) crystals with lattice parameters comparable to the wavelength of light have attracted much attention, because they offer unique ways in which to control the propagation of light. PBG crystals have applications in laser, quantum optical devices, and so on. For many of these applications, it is important to have the capability of tuning the photonic band structures. The fabrication of such tunable PBG crystals is still a challenge. In this paper, we proposed that switchable PBG crystals could be realized by taking advantage of the phase transition in liquid crystals induced by the photoisomerization of azo dyes. A dynamic change in the optical stop band was demonstrated. Such photoswitchable PBG crystals provide a method by which light can be routed using light.     

Laser emission at the second-order photonic band gap in an electric-field-distorted cholesteric liquid crystal

ABSTRACT

We study the optical properties of a cholesteric liquid crystal doped with a fluorescent dye in the regime of highly distorted helix without full helix unwinding. The distortion was achieved by applying a pulsed AC electric field, perpendicular to the helix axis. If the pulse is in the millisecond range, the helix is deformed but keeps its original pitch even for electric fields higher than the theoretical critical field for helix unwinding. In this field regime, very pronounced high-order photonic band gaps are observed, in agreement with our calculations. We theoretically explore the possibility of obtaining viable laser emission at the second-order photonic band gap, and experimentally find that lasing is not only possible but has a figure of merit similar to that of the usual laser at the main-gap region. Therefore, electric-field-induced high-order photonic band gaps are potentially useful for multiline laser applications.     

梯度结构胶体光子晶体的制备及光子禁带调节

以改进的对流自组装方法制备层数可控的胶体光子晶体, 并通过各向同性氧等离子体(O₂ Plasma)刻蚀构造出梯度结构, 进一步通过金(Au)及无定形硅(Si)的可控沉积调节梯度结构胶体光子晶体的光子禁带, 并将该梯度结构用于罗丹明B的荧光发射增强.     

基于胆甾相液晶的可调制光子晶体

将胆甾相液晶填充进胶体晶体内部空隙, 通过胆甾相液晶与胶体晶体的耦合, 构建了一种新型可调制液晶光子晶体. 填充于胶体晶体内部的胆甾相液晶织构呈现典型的手性近晶相(S)特征. 由于胆甾相液晶具有特定的选择性反射, 当胶体晶体的带隙处于胆甾相液晶的反射波长范围之内, 则随着温度的改变, 胶体晶体的带隙与胆甾相液晶的带隙同时发生蓝移. 在一定温度条件下, 胆甾相液晶的带隙将与胶体晶体的带隙发生耦合, 实现了光子晶体带隙在单峰与双峰之间的可逆切换.     

Low-birefringence liquid crystal mixtures for photonic liquid crystal fibres application

ABSTRACT

Series of low-birefringence liquid crystal mixtures composed of alkyl alkylbicyclohexyl carbonates and modified mixtures with other compounds have been formulated, their refractive indices and electric permittivity measured upon temperature. They exhibit the ordinary refraction index n_o lower than the refractive index of silica glass in a different range of temperature. This enables to observe in photonic liquid crystal fibres (PLCFs) a change in the light propagation mechanism from photonic band gap guiding to modified total internal reflection at different temperatures. Selected applications of PLCFs are also discussed.     

Optical properties and photonic density of states in one-dimensional and three-dimensional liquid-crystalline photonic crystals

ABSTRACT

Complex optical investigations were performed in one-dimensional (cholesteric) and three-dimensional (Blue Phase II) liquid-crystalline photonic crystals. Spectra of optical transmission and luminescence in the range of the photonic stop band contain information about the local anisotropy, characteristics of the photonic stop band, photonic density of states. We determine the photonic density of states in one-dimensional and three-dimensional liquid-crystalline photonic crystals employing measurements of polarised luminescence. The width of the photonic band gap, density of states and the optical characteristics related to the density of states essentially change with temperature in one-dimensional cholesteric photonic crystal. Drastic transformation of the density of states was found at the transition from one-dimensional to three-dimensional (Blue Phase II) photonic crystal. The results of our investigations demonstrate the possibility to employ the applied method for various types of photonic structures.     

Spatially and electrically tunable random lasing based on a polymer-stabilised blue phase liquid crystal-wedged cell

ABSTRACT

We demonstrate a spatially and electrically tunable random lasing based on polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal (PS-BPLC)-wedged cell. The spatially tunable random lasers can be obtained from the laser dye-doped PS-BPLC-wedged cell through changing the pump positions, where the emission wavelength of the random laser can be tuned due to the thickness gradient of the wedged cell, which affects the scattering mean free path. Additionally, applying different electric fields can also tune the laser emission wavelength. The changing of refractive index due to the Kerr effect leads to a change in the scattering mean free path, resulting in shift of lasing wavelength. This PS-BPLC-wedged cell device has a great potential in applications of speckle-free imaging, document coding, biomedicine and other photonic devices.     

Microwave-assisted self-organization of colloidal particles in confining aqueous droplets

Monodisperse aqueous emulsion droplets encapsulating colloidal particles were produced in the oil phase, and controlled microwave irradiation of the aqueous drop phase created spherical colloidal crystals by so-called evaporation-induced self-organization of the colloidal particles. Unlike usual colloidal crystals, colloidal crystals in spherical symmetry (or photonic balls) possessed photonic band gaps for the normal incident light independent of the position all over the spherical surface. While the consolidation of colloidal particles in emulsion droplets in an oven took several hours, the present microwave-assisted evaporation could reduce the time for complete evaporation to a few tens of minutes. Under the microwave irradiation, the aqueous phase in emulsions was superheated selectively and the evaporation rate of water could be controlled easily by adjusting the microwave intensity. The result showed that the packing quality of colloidal crystals obtained by the microwave-assisted self-organization was good enough to show photonic band gap characteristics. The reflectance of our photonic balls responded precisely to any change in physical properties including the size of colloidal particles, refractive index mismatch, and angle of the incident beam. In particular, for polymeric particles, the photonic band gap could be tuned by the intensity of microwave irradiation, and the reflection color was red-shifted with stronger microwave irradiation. Finally, for better photonic band gap properties, inverted photonic balls were prepared by using the spherical colloidal crystals as sacrificial templates.     

Thermoresponsive inverse opal films fabricated with liquid-crystal elastomers and nematic liquid crystals

Liquid-crystal elastomers together with nematic liquid crystals have been used as inverse opal materials to fabricate thermoresponsive photonic crystal directly. In the vicinity of the phase-transition point of the mixture, the photonic band gaps of such inverse opal films exhibited a strong temperature dependence. As the molar ratio of liquid-crystal elastomers and nematic liquid crystals changed, the character of their PBGs also changed with increasing temperature. Such a temperature-tuning effect in the photonic band gap should be of great interest in thermal switches and thermal sensors.     

带隙可调各向同性蛋白石光子晶体的制备与研究

用旋涂法将聚苯乙烯微球组装成光子晶体,研究了此光子晶体的特点,并分析了在单一微球粒径下旋涂参数对光子带隙的影响.结果表明:旋涂法制备的光子晶体具有各向同性特点,其光子带隙由旋涂参数决定.光子晶体的反射波段取决于乳液中微球的质量分数,而反射强度取决于旋涂层数.因此,在设计光子晶体时,可以根据需要,通过微球的质量分数和旋涂...     

Photoswitching properties of photonic band gap material containing azo-polymer liquid crystal

A photochemically tunable photonic crystal was prepared by infiltration of the polymer liquid crystal (LC) having azo-chromophores in a SiO₂ inverse opal structure. The SiO₂ inverse opal film infiltrated with the polymer LC reflected a light corresponding to the periodicity as well as the refractive indices of the inverse opal structure. Linearly polarized light irradiation caused the shift of the reflection band to longer wavelength more than 15 nm. This is caused by the formation of uniaxially anisotropic molecular orientation of the polymer LC. The switched state was stable under interior light, and reversible switching of the reflection band can be achieved by the linearly and circularly polarized light irradiation. This photoswitching property will be suitable not only for various optical materials, but also for introduction of defects in the photonic crystals.     

光子晶体的制备及应用

光子晶体（PC）是具有光子带隙的周期性电介质结构，频率落在光子带隙中的光将被禁止传播。本文对光子晶体的能带结构、带隙的产生、制备方法及应用作了简要的介绍，重点介绍了光子晶体的制备技术及其在光电领域中的应用前景。     

光子晶体的分析化学应用研究新进展

光子晶体具有规则的堆积结构、纳米级别的孔径和新颖的光学性质,在工程、物理、化学以及生物学等研究中均有重要的研究与开发价值。本文从分析化学应用研究角度对其进行了审视,综述了最近5年多以来光子晶体在传感与分离分析方法发展中应用的最新进展。     

Blue and green upconversion luminescence modification of Tb<Superscript>3+</Superscript>–Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript> co-doped Ca<Subscript>5</Subscript>(PO<Subscript>4</Subscript>)<Subscript>3</Subscript>F inverse opal

Tb³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped Ca₅(PO₄)₃F inverse opal photonic crystals were prepared by a self-assembly technique in combination with a sol–gel method. Upconversion luminescence characteristics of the inverse opals were investigated. The results indicate that photonic band gap has a significant effect on upconversion luminescence of Tb³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped Ca₅(PO₄)₃F inverse opal. Significant inhibition of the green or blue upconversion luminescence was inspected if the photonic band gap overlapped with the emission band of Tb³⁺ ions.     

胶体自组装法形成光子带隙材料

光子带隙晶体使人们可以有效地控制和操纵光子,但是构建光子晶体,尤其是近红外及可见光区域的光子晶体是一个困难的工作,它对材料提出了很高的要求.本文从化学的角度,利用自组装方法,对胶体晶体和反蛋白石等类光子带隙材料包括半导体、金属、金属氧化物、聚合物、染料等进行较全面的介绍,同时介绍了如何从这些材料获得光子带隙.     

Liquid-crystal-droplet optical microcavities

ABSTRACT

The use of liquid-crystal droplets as optical microcavities and lasers is reviewed and possible applications are discussed. Liquid-crystal droplets are prepared by simple methods that enable scalable production since their internal structure is formed by self-assembly. Light is trapped in droplets due to total internal reflection on the surface due to refractive index mismatch or because of a photonic bandgap structure in cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs). Light confinement gives rise to a variety of optical modes and by employing a fluorescent dye end external optical pumping, lasing can be achieved. Liquid-crystal-droplet cavities are largely tunable by applying an electric field or a temperature change. Such cavities can be used as temperature and chemical sensors, and tunable light sources and filters in future integrated soft photonic circuits.     

Time‐dependent deformation of structurally chiral polymer networks in stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals

Polymerization of crosslinkable liquid crystal monomers in chiral liquid crystalline media stabilizes the phase and enables distinct electro‐optic properties relative to small‐molecule analogs. Particularly interesting are cases where the polymerization forms a crosslinked polymer network that maintains a “structural” chirality. Recent reports have employed this methodology to realize a diverse set of electro‐optic responses in polymer stabilized cholesteric liquid crystals (PSCLCs) including reflection bandwidth broadening, reflection wavelength tuning, and dynamic scattering modes. It has been proposed that the mechanism at the root of these electro‐optic responses is an ion‐mediated, electromechanical deformation of the stabilizing and structurally chiral polymer network. In an effort to better understand the nature of these deformations, here we have characterized the electro‐optic response of PSCLCs with different polymer concentrations and crosslink densities. The dynamic response of PSCLCs to electric fields exhibits a time‐dependent behavior reminiscent of the creep of polymeric materials to mechanical deformations. The electro‐optic response can be described as the superposition of two contributions: the fast deformation of a relatively soft component of the polymer network (1–2 s) and the slower (10–20 s) deformation of a harder component. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018 , 56, 1087–1093     

Nematic liquid crystal gyroids as photonic crystals

ABSTRACT

We demonstrate nematic and cholesteric liquid crystal (LC) gyroids and show their photonic properties as photonic crystals by using numerical modelling. The LC gyroids are designed as composite optical materials, where we take one labyrinth of passages to be a solid dielectric, whereas the other (complementing) labyrinth of passages is taken to be filled by chiral or achiral nematic LC, with the intermediate gyroid surface imposing homeotropic (perpendicular) surface anchoring. The nematic inside the gyroid matrix is shown to exhibit a variety of possible orientational profiles which are characterised by complex networks of topological defects – from ordered, semi-ordered, to completely disordered. The diversity of possible nematic states is shown to lead to a rich structure of photonic bands, which can be tuned by the LC volume fraction and the cholesteric pitch, including control over full – direct and indirect – band gaps.     

Phase diagrams of cholesteric films in electric fields

Planar films of cholesteric liquid crystals exhibit several types of instabilities in electric fields. A periodic equilibrium structure can appear when the field is parallel to the helix axis. Conditions for the occurrence of the modulated phase have been derived by an analytical theory, which describes long wavelength distortions in the vicinity of Lifshitz points.     

Fabrication and optical characterization of imprinted broad‐band photonic films via multiple gradient UV photopolymerization

A structured broad‐band photonic film is fabricated by a novel method using multiple gradient UV‐induced polymerization in the presence of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs). Here, imprinting and broadening of the reflection band of chiral nematic mesophase cells are achieved via controlled UV polymerization. The intensity gradient of UV light is modified by the distance between UV lamp and sample cell, which affects the polymerization rate and leads to the formation of imprinted helical constructions with different pitches. In this study, a comparison of new design process with traditional UV polymerization process is carried out. After seven cycles of gradient UV polymerization, the imprinted photonic construction exhibited a broadened reflection band and Bragg reflection, even for isotropic materials. Because of this, the reflection bandwidth showed a 70% improvement. Additionally, two stacked imprinted cells with different pitches can reflect incident light with a bandwidth over the visible wavelength range of 480–680 nm. A broad‐band photonic polymer film can be imprinted using multiple gradient UV photopolymerization in the presence of CLCs. Forming a UV intensity gradient and controlling the rate of photopolymerization are key factors in broadening the reflection band. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017, 55, 1427–1434