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Using Microwave and Macroscopic Samples of Dielectric Solids to Study the Photonic Properties of Disordered Photonic Bandgap Materials
Published on: September 26, 2014
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3D Helix Engineering in Chiral Photonic Materials.
Augustinus J J Kragt1,2,3, Davey C Hoekstra1,3, Sjoerd Stallinga4
1Stimuli-responsive Functional Materials and Devices, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|June 28, 2019
Summary
Researchers engineered 3D chiral photonic materials with a unique helical structure. These novel materials exhibit super-reflectivity and tunable optical properties, opening doors for advanced applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Materials Science
Background:
- Engineering three-dimensional (3D) helical structures in chiral photonic materials presents significant fabrication challenges.
- Chiral photonic materials are crucial for manipulating light polarization and enabling advanced optical functionalities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for fabricating 3D engineered chiral photonic materials with controllable helical structures.
- To investigate the optical properties, including light reflection and polarization dependence, of the fabricated materials.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of 3D helix engineered photonic materials using local stratification within a photopolymerizable chiral nematic liquid crystal.
- Characterization of the materials' optical properties, including reflectivity and polarization response.
- Computational simulations to model and understand the observed photonic behavior and structural characteristics.
Main Results:
- Successfully fabricated 3D chiral photonic materials exhibiting super-reflectivity.
- The materials reflect both left- and right-handed circular polarized light.
- Simulations revealed a distorted helical structure, consistent with experimental observations.
- Demonstrated tunable optical properties, including changing color contrast with incident light polarization.
Conclusions:
- The developed fabrication technique enables the creation of 3D engineered photonic materials with unique helical structures.
- These materials possess versatile optical properties suitable for various applications.
- Potential applications include anti-counterfeit labels, data encryption, and advanced reflective films.
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