Electrically controlled switching of light beams in the plane of liquid crystal layer

A simple experimental method and a set-up to control light beams in the plane of liquid crystal (LC) cell is developed. The main idea of the method is the reflection and the refraction of light beams propagating in a plane of LC layer from the boundary, which separates the regions of a liquid crystal cell with different director orientations and refractive indices. This boundary can be produced by electric field applied to the LC layer with a planar homogeneous orientation. The disclination lines that separate the extremely sharp changes of LC orientation can be also used for this purpose. The possibility of discrete deflection of light beam from the initial direction is shown. A computer simulation confirmed that the proposed experimental geometry was most suitable to control intensity of extraordinary rays propagating in the plane of liquid crystal layer.     

Electrically tunable long-period fiber gratings with low-birefringence liquid crystal near the turn-around point

In this work, an electrically tunable long-period fiber grating (LPFG) coated with liquid crystal layer (LC) is presented. As a LC layer, a prototype low-birefringence 1550A LC mixture was chosen. As a LPFG host, two types of gratings were studied: the LPFGs based on a standard telecommunication fiber, produced by an electric arc technique with a period of 222 μm, and the LPFGs based on a boron co-doped fiber written by a UV technique with a period of 226.8 μm. The relatively short period of these gratings allowed exploiting unique sensing properties of the attenuation bands associated with modes close to the turn-around point. Experiments carried out showed that for the UV-induced LPFG with a LC layer, on the powered state the attenuation band could be offset from the attenuation band measured in the unpowered state by almost 130 nm. When the arc-induced LPFG was coated with the LC, the depth of the attenuation band could be efficiently controlled by applying an external E-field. Additionally, all experimental results obtained in this work were supported by the theoretical analysis based on a model developed with Optigrating v.4.2 software.     

Tunable wavelength-selective add-drop in liquid crystals on a silicon microresonator

We propose and numerically investigate a tunable add-drop consisting of an optical disk microresonator embedded in nematic liquid crystals. The electro-optic cladding enables tunability via an external low-frequency voltage. All loss mechanisms as well as the features of the tunable filter are accounted for via a full-dimensional (3D + time) parallel Finite Difference Time Domain code.     

Polarization dependent guiding in liquid crystal filled photonic crystal fibers

A theoretical study of nematic liquid crystal filled photonic crystal fibers (LCPCFs) is presented. Detailed investigations including the polarization dependent bandgap formation and the modal properties are given for LCPCFs, in which alignment of the molecules could be controlled by external static electric field. The polarization dependent bandgap splitting caused by the high index difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary dielectric index of nematic liquid crystals provides the possibility of single-mode single-polarization guiding. A polarization operation diagram is proposed to describe the guiding behavior of LCPCFs. The influence of rotation angle ? of the director of liquid crystals on the modal properties is investigated. It is shown that the polarization axis of the guided mode is determined by the rotation angle ?, which could be controlled by external electric field.     

Propagation properties of beams generated by Gaussian mirror resonator in uniaxial crystals

Based on the paraxial vectorial theory of beams propagating in uniaxially anisotropic media, we have derived the analytical propagation equations of beams generated by Gaussian mirror resonator (GMR) in uniaxial crystals, and given the typical numerical example to illustrate our analytical results. Due to the anisotropy crystals, the ordinary and extraordinary beams originated by incident beams generated by GMR propagate with different diffraction lengths, thus the linear polarization state and axial symmetry of the incident beams generated by GMR do not remain during propagating in crystals.     

Flexo-electric polarization and anchoring energy for a nematic liquid crystal in a hybrid cell

Summary The flexo-electric polarization of hybrid nematic cells filled with 5 CB was measured as a function of cell thickness. To this aim the pyroelectric response of a nematic layer with small amount of light absorbing dye dissolved was detected in a nematic temperature range. From the experimental data the angle of the director deviation at the homeotropic boundary was calculated as a function of cell thickness. This dependence allows the qualitative determination of the shape of the potential well for the director deviation which is inconsistent with Rapini’s sinesquared form. The ?apparent? Rapini’s anchoring energy varies with a surface director angle (at the homeotropic boundary) from 5·10⁻³ to 3.5·10⁻² erg·cm⁻². Work presented at the second USSR-Italy Bilateral Meeting on Liquid Crystals held in Moscow, September 15–21, 1988.     

Optical phase conjugation in the hybrid polymer liquid crystal panel

In this paper, we present experimental results of the optical phase conjugation (PC) process in nematic liquid crystal cell with a photoconducting polymer layer (PVK doped with TNF). We analyze and discuss the influence of a few parameters (applied voltage, power of the laser beams, and geometry of an experiment) on conjugation efficiency. We also present experimental results showing possible application of the optical phase conjugation phenomenon in correction of phase distortion and aberration.     

超快贝塞尔光束在硫化锌晶体表面制备纳米孔

硫化锌(ZnS)晶体是重要的宽光谱红外窗口材料,高深径比纳米孔的超快激光制造技术为中红外波导傅立叶变换光谱仪等光子器件的实现提供了重要的技术途径.本文采用中心波长为1030nm、重复频率为100kHz、脉冲宽度为223 fs-20ps可调的Yb:KGW激光光源,用石英锥镜产生高斯-贝塞尔光束,并用4f系统构建了40倍缩...     

Investigation of dielectric properties and diffraction efficiency enhancements caused by photothermal effect in DR9 dye-doped nematic liquid crystal

In this work, we studied dielectric properties and laser-induced refractive index changes originating from photothermal effects of liquid crystal material doped with Disperse Red 9 (DR9) dye. Dye concentration is arranged to be between percentages changing from 0.2 wt.% to 1 wt.% in E63 nematic liquid crystal. Nonlinear optical properties such as diffraction efficiency (η) and refractive index modulation (Δn) were investigated by diffraction grating measurements. It was found the diffraction efficiency of pure E63 nematic liquid crystal is 1%. As the doping amount of DR9 dye in nematic LC is increased, diffraction efficiency took higher values and the maximum diffraction efficiency of 10% was gained with E63 doped with 0.8 wt.%DR9 dye. Moreover, dielectric permittivity and dielectric anisotropy values of the samples were investigated in the frequency range of 100 Hz-10 MHz by using dielectric spectroscopy technique. It was observed that dielectric constant values of the liquid crystal material are strongly affected by doping with dye.     

Hollow elliptical Gaussian beams generated by a triangular prism

Based on the tensor method, an analytical formula for hollow Gaussian beams (HGBs) generated by a triangular prism has been derived, and the propagation properties have been studied. It is shown that hollow elliptical Gaussian beams (HEGBs) can be obtained in the near field after the prism, and that the eccentricity of the output beam is affected by parameters such as the incidence angle, refractive index of the prism and the order of the HGB. It shows that by using a triangular prism one can conveniently obtain HEGBs.     

Analysis of photonic crystal fibers infiltrated with nematic liquid crystal

The spectral characteristic of a nematic liquid crystal photonic crystal fiber is analyzed. The locations of the transmission minima in the transmission spectrum can be evaluated by examining the modal cutoffs of specific modes in the liquid crystal inclusion. The selection criteria for these specific modes are based on the fraction of power residing in the core. Explicit expressions for these modal cutoffs are also derived.     

Full prediction of the broadband optical modulation performance of a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell

We present a procedure to obtain the physical parameters responsible of twisted nematic liquid crystal (LC) cells optical modulation. The novelty of our approach is based on the use of spectroscopic measurements of the light transmitted by the system polarizer-LC cell-analyzer, combined with a previously proposed simple physical model of the LC twist and tilt distribution along cell. The procedure involves two steps: the first one yields off-state parameters like the LC director orientation, the twist angle, and the optical path difference (cell gap); the second step yields the effective retardances of the central and edge LC layers. The use of a spectroscopic method provides a full characterization of the LC cell as a function of both the voltage and the wavelength. The complete procedure leads to a very accurate prediction of the transmitted light broadband spectrum, as well as the complex (amplitude and phase) modulation for any wavelength within the calibration range.     

Electro-optic characteristics as a function of pretilt angle in the optically compensated splay liquid crystal cell

Optically compensated splay (OCS) mode, where the liquid crystals (LCs) are almost homeotropically aligned with rubbed surfaces at parallel directions and a mid-director orients parallel to the substrate, was known to show a wide-viewing-angle due to self-compensation effect. The device requires a setting voltage and phase transition time in order for LC to have a transition from almost vertical alignment to the splay state. The setting voltage, transition time, and response time of the device as a function of surface pretilt angle were studied. The results indicate that with decreasing surface pretilt angle in the OCS cell, both phase transition time and setting voltage decrease and response time becomes faster.     

Tunable photoluminescence of porous silicon by liquid crystal infiltration

The photoluminescence (PL) of porous silicon films has been investigated as a function of the amount of liquid crystal molecules that are infiltrated into the constricted geometry of the porous silicon films. A typical nematic liquid crystal 4-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl was employed in our experiment as the filler to modify the PL of porous silicon. It is found that the originally red PL of porous silicon films can be tuned to blue by simply adjusting the amount of liquid crystal molecules in the microchannels of the porous films. The chromaticity coordinates are calculated for the recorded PL spectra. The mechanism of the tunable PL is discussed. Our results have demonstrated that the luminescent properties of porous silicon films can be efficiently tuned by liquid crystal infiltration.     

On the transmission by liquid crystal tapered optical fibers

A three-layer liquid crystal tapered optical fiber (LCTF) is investigated with the emphasis on the power confinements by the low order TE and TM modes sustained in the different sections of LCTF. The outermost clad section is considered to be made of liquid crystal with radial anisotropy whereas the core and the inner clad are dielectric regions. Rigorous field expressions in the different LCTF sections are deduced, and the plots of power confinement factors (or the relative distributions) are ultimately made considering different fiber dimensions. The results reveal that the TE modes confine maximum amount of power in the outermost liquid crystal region, which is attributed to the radial anisotropy of the section. Such features of LCTFs attract their usefulness in the area of field coupling devices and optical sensing where evanescent field technique is primarily implemented.     

Realisation of a liquid crystal based prototype for duration measurement of picosecond pulses

Using self-diffraction technique, a prototype has been ideated and experimentally assembled for the measurement of the duration of laser pulses in the range of picoseconds. The innovative technique used is based on the presence of a dynamic diffraction grating written by the pulse on a film of liquid crystalline composite material under suitable geometrical conditions. The pulse to be measured undergoes a “self-diffraction” effect whose efficiency is related to the pulse duration. A software has been implemented both for the calculation of the pulse duration from the elaboration of experimental data and for the control of mechanical micrometric components.     

Tuning of full band gap in anisotropic photonic crystal slabs using a liquid crystal

We analyze the tunability of full band gap in photonic crystal slabs created by square and triangular lattices of air holes in anisotropic tellurium background, considering that the regions above and below the slab are occupied by SiO₂ and the holes are infiltrated with liquid crystals. Using the supercell method based on plane wave expansion, we study the variation of full band gap by changing the optical axis orientation of liquid crystal. Our results demonstrate the existence and remarkable tunability of full band gap in both square and triangular lattices, largest band gap and tunability being obtained for the triangular lattice.     

Dynamic operation of liquid crystal cell with inherently nanogroove-featured aligned carbon nanotube sheets

The use of a highly aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) sheet as a multifunctional constituent for liquid crystal (LC) displays and electro-optic LC applications is assessed. The CNT sheet can perform a dual function: one is an alignment layer for LCs, replacing the commonly used rubbed polyimide film, and the other is a transparent conductive layer, taking the place of indium tin oxide. The hydrophobic treatment improved the adhesion quality between aligned CNT bundles and the glass substrate, which helps to preserve the inherently aligned nanogroove morphology of transparent CNT sheets. The test LC display cells, comprising 4-cyano-4′-pentylbiphenyl molecules sandwiched between CNT-sheet-on-glass substrates, demonstrate the operation characteristics comparable to that of the conventional cell under temperature variation and ac electric field of 1?kHz. The results offer a possibility of deploying multifunctional CNT-sheet alignment layers in LC-based devices, especially in the future flexible display applications.     

Study of liquid crystal phases with a model soft ellipsoid contact potential

We propose a soft ellipsoid contact potential model (SECP) for a pair of identical uniaxial ellipsoidal molecules, considering the configuration dependent energy anisotropy explicitly along with their geometrical aspects. The present model is an extension of the ellipsoid contact potential (ECP), main contribution of which was to determine the correct contact function of the ellipsoidal core. Expressions for intermolecular forces and torques derived analytically from this new model pair interaction potential are presented hereto to make it useful for molecular dynamics simulation study. We also report on some observations of molecular dynamics simulation study to demonstrate the ability of this realistic coarse-grained potential in generating some important liquid crystal phases.