Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

10:33
An Electrochemical Cholesteric Liquid Crystalline Device for Quick and Low-Voltage Color Modulation
Published on: February 27, 2019
Widely tunable optical filter with variable bandwidth based on the thermal effect on cholesteric liquid crystals.
1Institute of Information Optics, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang 321004, China. hyh@zjnu.cn
Applied Optics
|August 22, 2012
Summary
A tunable optical filter using cholesteric liquid crystals was developed. This filter offers a wide tuning range for wavelength and adjustable bandwidth, with applications in telecommunications and imaging.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Optical filters are crucial components in various photonic systems.
- Existing tunable filters often have limitations in bandwidth or tuning range.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a widely tunable optical filter with variable bandwidth.
- To explore the application of thermal effects on cholesteric liquid crystals for optical filtering.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cholesteric liquid crystals and their thermal properties.
- Engineered an optical filter design allowing for wavelength and bandwidth modulation.
Main Results:
- Achieved wide central wavelength tuning from 826 nm to 517 nm.
- Demonstrated variable bandwidth control ranging from 10 nm to 70 nm.
- Confirmed the filter's tunability based on thermal effects.
Conclusions:
- A novel tunable optical filter based on cholesteric liquid crystals has been successfully demonstrated.
- The filter exhibits significant wavelength tunability and adjustable bandwidth.
- Potential applications exist in telecommunications and multi-spectral/hyper-spectral imaging.

