All-optical switching of liquid crystals at terahertz frequencies enabled by metamaterials

Nematic liquid crystals integrated with metallic resonators (metamaterials) are intriguing hybrid systems, which not only offer added optical functionalities, but also promote strong light-matter interactions. In this report, we show with an analytical model that the electric field generated by a conventional oscillator-based terahertz time domain spectrometer is strong enough to induce partial, all-optical switching of nematic liquid crystals in such hybrid systems. Our analysis provides a robust theoretical footing for the mechanism of all-optical nonlinearity of liquid crystals, which was recently hypothesised to explain an anomalous resonance frequency shift in liquid crystal-loaded terahertz metamaterials. The integration of metallic resonators with nematic liquid crystals offers a robust approach to explore optical nonlinearity within such hybrid material systems in the terahertz range; paves the way towards increased efficiency of existing devices; and broadens the range of applications of liquid crystals in the terahertz frequency range.