Topological Soft Matter for Optics and Photonics

Liquid crystal colloids are interesting for a variety of mechanisms—including self-assembly, optical-tweezers assisted assembly, topology, and material flow—that can be used to create various complex optical and photonic structures. Here, we present a brief overview of liquid crystal colloidal structures, as recently achieved by numerical modeling and experiments. Central to the structures are complex conformations of topological defects, as they can bind, stabilize, or distort the structure. Using topological and geometrical arguments, we show that the defects can be controllably rewired and imprinted, for example by using optical tweezers. We show that 3D colloidal crystals can be assembled from elastic dipoles of spherical beads in nematic liquid crystals or via inherently inhomogeneous order profiles in bulk and confined cholesteric blue phases. Colloidal crystals are generalized to close-packed colloidal lattices, which we show can serve as natural templates for defect networks. Finally, photonic bands are calculated for selected structures and possible defects in the structure are discussed.     

利用水平沉积法制作PS微球二元胶体薄膜及其它复杂结构

本文采用水平沉积方法,制作出各种胶体晶体薄膜.以聚苯乙烯微球为构建单元,制作了多种二元胶体晶体和非单一平面的胶体晶体.为实现太赫兹光子晶体波导,还采用这一方法将线缺陷植入胶体晶体.结果显示通过该方法可以获得很好的有序结构,说明水平沉积方法可以广泛于各种胶体晶体制作.     

SiO2双尺寸光子晶体的自组装及稳定性探索

采用St?ber法制备不同尺寸SiO2胶体球,利用多次垂直沉积法制备SiO2双尺寸光子晶体.通过场发射扫描电子显微镜(FE-SEM)对所得双尺寸光子晶体的形貌和排列方式进行表征.对双尺寸光子晶体的生长过程进行探讨,研究界面作用力及胶体球间相互作用力对制备稳定结构的影响.研究结果表明,SiO2双尺寸光子晶体具有更加有序稳定的结构.胶体球间的相互作用力随胶体球粒径增大而增大,大粒径胶体球更有利于形成稳定的结构.     

空气放电中自组织等离子体光子晶体研究

采用平板双水电极介质阻挡放电装置,通过放电丝的非线性自组织,在空气放电中获得不同对称性二维等离子体光子晶体.随外加电压升高,等离子体光子晶体经历了从等边三角晶格到四方晶格结构的转化.在实验测量数据的基础上,采用平面波展开方法计算了等离子体光子晶体转化过程中的带隙结构变化.提出了一种在空气放电中实现的新型可调等离子体光子晶体.     

Colloidal structures in confined nematic liquid crystals

Colloidal structures in confined nematics offer novel routes for designing complex optical materials with micrometre and submicrometre functionality. In this paper, we review some of our recently assembled colloidal structures that form in confined nematic cells. We present effective elastic binding via nematic distortion as a mechanism for the assembly of two-dimensional colloidal crystals of elastic dipoles and elastic quadrupoles. We introduce entangled colloids as novel types of structures, where particles are topologically bound by delocalised defect loops, producing robust and possibly chiral structures. The concept of hierarchical assembly is demonstrated in colloids with particles of various scales. In cholesteric blue phases, the assembly of three-dimensional colloidal crystals is shown based on naturally occurring three-dimensional arrays of trapping sites produced by blue phases.     

具有梯度结构的蛋白石光子晶体的制备

具有梯度结构的蛋白石光子晶体具有独特的光学性能。本文通过垂直沉积法和电场诱导沉积等方法共同作用将具有不同直径的聚苯乙烯(Polystyrene)胶体微球逐层组装在一起,制备出具有梯度周期尺寸变化的蛋白石结构。     

基于带隙分析的三维反蛋白石光子晶体的非理想态结构参数的求解

应用平面波展开法分析了三维反蛋白石结构光子晶体的带隙性质;计算了沿[111]方向入射时其赝带隙(第一、第三赝带)中心频率分别与填隙材料在模板中填充率ff、模板煅烧因子sf的关系曲线:随ff的减小,v增大;随sf的增大,v随之增大,非理想状态下,ff＜100;、sf＞1,因此较理想态发生蓝移;由此提出了求解平均填充率ffev与平均煅烧因子sfev的计算框图.     

Tunable Optofluidic Polymer Photonic Liquid Crystal Fibers

New trends are presented in optofluidics based on microstructured photonic crystal fibers filled with liquid crystals. It significantly enhanced optical properties of the fibers and introduced new levels of tunability to photonic crystal fibers. The paper discusses basic research directions in fiber-based optofluidics and, in particular, in polycarbonate-based photonic liquid crystal fibers. Experimental and theoretical results are presented on polymer crystal fibers filled with nematic liquid crystal with two different types of dielectric anisotropies.     

h-BN型超晶格等离子体光子晶体能带特性研究

六方氮化硼(h-BN)晶格结构是一种类六方对称复式超晶格结构。具有h-BN晶格构型的光子晶体以其宽光子带隙特点受到国内外学者的广泛关注。本文利用不同尺度低压气体放电管与Al₂O₃介质棒周期性排列,构建了新型h-BN型超晶格等离子体光子晶体,实现其空间结构和等离子体参数的动态调控。利用微波透射谱对比研究了h-BN型超晶格与简单三角晶格等离子体光子晶体禁带位置、宽度和数目。分析了放电电流、介质棒阵列数对不同频段光子带隙的影响,以及电磁波入射角度对电磁传输特性的影响。结果表明：等离子体的引入不仅能够形成新的光子带隙,而且可以选择性地使部分禁带位置发生移动;相对于简单三角晶格,h-BN型超晶格等离子体光子晶体呈现出更多光子带隙;Al₂O₃介质棒阵列数对等离子体光子晶体禁带位置、宽度和数目均具有重要影响。电磁波入射角度变化越大,电磁传输特性差别越显著,透射谱相关性越差。本文所设计的新型h-BN型超晶格等离子体光子晶体为制作可调谐光子晶体提供了新的思路,在微波和太赫兹波控制领域具有潜在应用价值。     

Photonics of liquid-crystal structures: A review

The original results of studies of the electro-optical and laser effects which have been performed at the Laboratory of Liquid Crystals of the Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, over the last few years are reviewed. Cholesteric liquid crystals as vivid representatives of photonic structures and their behavior in an electric field are considered in detail. The formation of higher harmonics in the periodic distribution of the director field in a helical liquid crystal structure and, correspondingly, the new (anharmonic) mode of electro-optical effects are discussed. Another group of studies is devoted to bistable light switching by an electric field in chiral nematics. Polarization diffraction gratings controlled by an electric field are also considered. The results of studies devoted to microlasers on various photonic structures with cholesteric and nematic liquid crystals are considered in detail. Particular attention is given to the new regime: leaky-mode lasing. Designs of liquid crystal light amplifiers and their polarization, field, and spectral characteristics are considered in the last section.     

The chromatic shift of 1-D photonic crystal films influenced by the alkyl group on imidazolium moiety of ionic liquids

Retaining reflection color developed from the photonic crystals has been our main interest. Persistent reflecting color from polymer photonic crystals using non-volatile solvents has been huddled by permeation of large molecular weight solvents. Some ionic liquids can permeate in between polymer photonic crystal layers. Polystyrene-b-poly-2-vinylpyridine (PS-b-P2VP) was used to obtain photonic crystals. The molecular weight of PS-b-P2VP and the hydrophobicity of the ionic liquids were altered to attain persistent color. Imidazolium and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium were used as cations of ionic liquids where the anion was bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide. The photonic crystals made with block copolymers of 84k–69k and 57k–57k molecular weights showed the persistent distinct colors by swelling with the ionic liquids.     

基于负折射率材料一维光子晶体可调节的频率和方向滤波器

为实现可调节的频率和方向滤波器,设计基于负折射率材料含空气层缺陷的一维光子晶体.用特征矩阵的方法研究电磁波在此种结构中的透射系数.研究发现在零平均折射率带隙内存在缺陷模,在正入射条件下缺陷模位置通过改变空气层厚度来调节.对在零平均折射率带隙内某个频率的电磁波,有某个特定方向让其透射,该方向也可以通过改变空气层厚度来调节.研究结果为设计可调节的频率和方向滤波器提供了理论依据.     

Chiral phases in a system of biaxial molecules

Chiral phases in a system of biaxial molecules are investigated based on a theory of biaxial liquid crystals, which we have presented in past work. Four chiral phases are identified, corresponding to a uniaxial nematic phase, two biaxial nematic phases, and a discotic phase, respectively. We find that in the chiral uniaxial nematic phase, the pitch of the chiral structures does not depend on temperature. In contrast, in the two chiral biaxial nematic phases, as well as in the chiral discotic phase, the pitch is temperature-dependent.     

Graphene oxide modified with aminoazobenzol group stabilized blue phase liquid crystals

Liquid-crystalline blue phases are stable only for very narrow temperature range between the isotropic and the chiral nematic phase that severely hinders their applicability. Herein, aminoazobenzol group was chemically grafted onto graphene oxide (GO) via amidization reaction. Successful grafting of aminoazobenzol group was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-vis absorption spectra and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The resultant aminoazobenzol group modified GO sheets which is reduced (GO-Az) were easily redispersed in common organic solvents. By doping different contents of GO-Az nanosheets could stabilize blue phase and increase the blue phase range. When doped with 0.5 wt% GO-Az, the mixtures show the wider range with 5.4°C than the range with 3.6°C of blue phase liquid crystals without GO-Az. Meanwhile, the phase sequence and the range of the aforementioned phases are reproducible upon heating and cooling, which shows that the blue phases doped with GO-Az nanosheets are thermodynamically stable.     

Template effects on the morphology of ZnO via colloidal crystals with different functional groups

ZnO is an important wide bandgap compound semiconducting material and exhibits a wide range of novel structures that can be grown by tuning the growth rates along its fast growth directions. Highly ordered macroporous materials by using colloidal crystal template method are of great interest in many fields including photonic crystals and catalysts. In this study, ZnO with highly ordered porous structure was deposited by different electrochemical method. Nanomeshes, inverse opal structures, and spherical/ellipsoidal particles with pore arrays are fabricated by the colloidal crystals with different functional groups. The template effects on the morphology of the macroporous structures for different surface groups are studied. All the nanomeshes grows along the {111} plane family by colloidal crystals without functional groups. Disordered arrangements of the nanomeshes are induced by colloidal crystals with hydroxyl groups. The inverse opal structures fabricated by template with carboxyl groups are smoother in surface.     

Photonic Band Effect in Ordered Polystyrene Particle Layers

Abstract

Quasi two-dimensional (2D) photonic band structures have been investigated on ordered polystyrene particle layers by means of polarized transmission spectra for oblique incidence of light. The results are discussed in terms of quasi-2D photonic band effect.     

二维异质结光子晶体弯曲波导的传输特性研究

应用时域有限差分(FDTD)方法,通过数值模拟研究光在二维异质结光子晶体L型弯曲波导的传输特性.结果表明:在异质结光子晶体波导中能更好地对光进行控制;并且异质结光子晶体L型弯曲波导的传输效率较同质结光子晶体波导提高了6;~7;.计算结果为高度集成化的光子晶体波导器件,提供了一条新的设计思路和依据.     

异质结构光子晶体的制备与带隙特性研究

本文采用多次垂直沉积法制备出了可见光范围的多重异质结构光子晶体,并对其形貌特征和带隙特性进行了分析.扫描电镜图像表明:所制备的异质结构光子晶体排列规整、不同结构间界面明显.光学吸收光谱分析结果表明:异质结构光子晶体与各单一结构光子晶体带隙相比,带隙明显增大,为各单一结构光子晶体带隙的叠加,且与不同结构的叠加顺序无关.     

Phenomenological theory of phase transition from isotropic to uniaxial, biaxial, and reentrant nematic phases in achiral liquid crystals

The topological properties of phase diagrams of liquid crystals with achiral molecules (mesogens) were studied for transitions from the isotropic to uniaxial and biaxial phases by using the phenomenological Landau-de Gennes theory. An isostructural phase transition between two uniaxial nematic phases was investigated.     

Periodic modulation on the refractive index in a Bi12TiO20 crystal

It is, well know that some, optical materials to change his refractive index when these exposed to light, depending on particular conditions, they can generate several distributions of refractive index. In this work, an experimental periodic arrangement of refractive index generated on the Bi₁₂TiO₂₀ photorrefractive crystal is presented, the initial condition used was generated by superposing two He‐Ne laser linearly polarized beams in a perpendicular direction to the external field applied to the crystal at 632.8 nm. The diagrams of bands generated with this arrangement is studied, based on the similarities presented by the periodic refractive index with the photonic bandgap (PBG) diagrams one‐dimensional superlattices composed of alternating layers of two distinct materials. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)