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Fabrication And Characterization Of Photonic Crystal Slow Light Waveguides And Cavities
Published on: November 30, 2012
Optical waveguiding in bent-core liquid-crystal filaments.
J Fontana1, C Bailey, W Weissflog
1Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA.
Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|November 13, 2009
Summary
Researchers have developed self-annealing fluidic optical waveguides using bent-core liquid-crystal filaments. These unique anisotropic materials demonstrate stable light transmission, paving the way for advanced optical microchips.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optoelectronics
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Bent-core liquid crystals (BCCs) are anisotropic fluid materials.
- Self-assembly in air leads to unique cylindrical filament geometries.
- Optical properties of these free-standing fluidic filaments are largely uncharacterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate and characterize optical waveguiding in free-standing bent-core liquid-crystal filaments.
- To investigate the influence of temperature, defects, and wavelength on waveguiding properties.
- To assess the potential of these self-assembled structures for optical applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of free-standing bent-core liquid-crystal filaments via self-assembly.
- Optical transmission measurements across a range of temperatures (180°C to near room temperature).
- Analysis of absorbance spectra in the visible and infrared regimes.
- Observation of defect self-annealing in newly formed filaments.
Main Results:
- Stable optical waveguiding was successfully demonstrated in the liquid-crystal filaments.
- Light power transmission remained constant across a wide temperature range.
- Filaments exhibited self-annealing of initial defects, resulting in low light scattering.
- Absorbance was strongly dependent on wavelength in the visible spectrum but low in the infrared.
Conclusions:
- Bent-core liquid-crystal filaments function as self-assembled optical waveguides.
- The fluidic and self-annealing nature, combined with stable waveguiding, offers unique advantages.
- Potential applications include optical communications and integrated optical microchips.
