Self-Organization of 2D and 3D Metamaterials in Nematic Liquid Crystals

Liquid crystals (LCs) are a fascinating class of materials with anisotropic optical and dielectric properties making them ideal candidates for forming self-organized 2D and 3D photonic structures. They form a versatile medium to support self-organization of structures into periodic, aperiodic, and quasiperiodic structures in 2D and 3D. Key driving forces behind self-organization in LCs include elastic distortions, surface anchoring, and external fields. External stimuli such as electric or magnetic fields, temperature gradients, or light irradiation can reorient LC molecules, providing dynamic control over the self-assembled structures. Hence, these structures interact with incoming light, enabling applications in tunable photonic devices. These photonic structures, particularly in the subdiffraction limit, called as metamaterials, give rise to unprecedented control of light. Metamaterials and their novel applications as well as self-assembly in LCs are well-reviewed subjects. However, there are very few articles on burgeoning and novel field of LC-integrated metamaterials, which is a subject of interest in the current article. In this article, we provide an extensive review of nematic LC-based metasurfaces giving rise to advanced functionalities of light manipulation such as beam steering, light detection and ranging, holography, sensing, and multifunctional and reconfigurable optoelectronic devices.