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Tunable optical metamaterial based on liquid crystal-gold nanosphere composite
R Pratibha1, K Park, I I Smalyukh
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Optics Express
|December 10, 2009
Summary
Researchers studied gold nanospheres in liquid crystals, observing tunable optical properties. This research shows potential for creating novel metamaterials for advanced optical applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Optics
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Anisotropic liquid crystals influence optical properties of nanomaterials.
- Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) is sensitive to the surrounding medium.
- Gold nanospheres exhibit SPR, useful for optical sensing.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the effect of liquid crystals on gold nanosphere SPR.
- Compare experimental results with Mie scattering theory.
- Explore the potential for tunable optical metamaterials.
Main Methods:
- Experimental investigation of SPR in gold nanosphere suspensions within liquid crystals.
- Comparison with Mie scattering theory and Maxwell Garnet effective medium theory.
- Atomic force microscopy to rule out nanoparticle agglomeration.
Main Results:
- Observed polarization-sensitive SPR.
- Demonstrated red-shift in SPR wavelength with increasing gold nanosphere concentration.
- Confirmed that agglomeration was not responsible for the observed red-shift.
Conclusions:
- Liquid crystal environment significantly affects gold nanosphere SPR.
- Maxwell Garnet theory accurately explains the observed phenomena.
- Developed a method for creating tunable optical bulk metamaterials using liquid crystal-nanoparticle composites.
