We have developed a technology to integrate a thin layer of liquid crystal (LC) on top of a Vertical-Cavity Surface- Emitting Laser (VCSEL). Based on this technology, we demonstrate VCSELs with a chiral liquid crystal (CLC) layer, which acts as a tuneable mirror. The reflection properties of the CLC layer are controlled by temperature. Next we demonstrate VCSEL devices with tuneable external cavity using a nematic LC layer incorporated with an additional dielectric mirror (SiO₂/Ta₂O₅). The VCSEL and the LC layer can be electrically driven independently and the optical length in the external cavity can be tuned by the applied voltage on the LC layer. In both configurations we show that the emission properties of the VCSEL can be changed, in terms of emission wavelength, polarization state and/or lasing threshold.

We report the experimental demonstration that both the extra-ordinarily large nonlinear response and the light-induced permanent reorientation in liquid crystals doped by the azo-dye Methyl-Red originates from the modification of the charge density on the irradiated surface. By recording the sample response by applying dc or ac voltage, it is shown that in the latter case no permanent anchoring is possible. It is also demonstrated the limited role of photo-isomerization that gives a contribution to the nonlinear reorientation process only in the high dose regime. The effects on light-induced tuning of the Freedericksz transition are also reported.

A rod-like Au(I) complex, which has a naphthalene ring in a mesogenic core, was synthesized by complexation of an ethynyl-substituted naphthalene derivative with (tht)AuCl, followed by treatment with 1-pentyl isocyanide. Characterization by NMR and X-ray crystallographic analysis revealed its molecular structure and crystal packing structure. The Au complex was found to exhibit enantiotropic liquid crystallinity. The temperature range in which a liquid–crystalline (LC) phase existed was wider than those for the corresponding LC gold complexes with phenyl or biphenyl moieties reported so far. For the Au complex in this study, photoluminescence was observed at 505 nm in the crystalline phase. In this paper, the relationship between molecular structure and LC behavior or photophysical properties is described by comparing this complex with other rod-like Au complexes.

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are widely used for diverse purposes in many aspects in daily life from handle personal devices to professional applications and large-panel LCD televisions. Since LCD is a passive emission display device, it usually shows narrow viewing angle and reduced brightness. Nowadays, LCDs with light-emitting properties is suggested as a less energy consuming displays. To date, fluorescent materials with dichroic properties and strong fluorescence emission are required. However, many molecular emitters, which are highly efficient in solution, will suffer from heavy aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect in the aggregate state, which has greatly limited their applications. In order to overcome these weaknesses, we have designed and synthesized a novel luminescent liquid crystalline compound consisting of a tetraphenylethene (TPE) core, TPE-PPE, as a luminogen with mesogenic moieties. As a result, the TPE-PPE exhibits both the aggregate-induced emission (AIE) and thermotropic liquid crystalline characteristics. By dissolving 1 weight% (wt%) of TPE-PPE into the nematic LC host PA0182, a linearly polarized emission was obtained on the unidirectional orientated LC cell. The photoluminescence polarization ratio of the LC cell has reached to 4.16 between the directions perpendicular and parallel to the rubbing direction. Utilizing the emissive anisotropic TPE-PPE, we have fabricated the photoluminescent liquid crystal display (PL-LCD). This approach has simplified the device design, lowered the energy consumption and increased brightness of the LCD.

We review different modeling and computational methods to determine the Q-tensor representation of the director field alignment in the absence of defects. Under this condition it is possible to represent the reorientation dynamics of the director field as the motion of the Q-tensor over an invariant manifold. This new representation allows us to develop very accurate codes for the alignment that are orders of magnitude faster than an equivalent full Q-tensor code. We illustrate this principle by discussing the case of a pure liquid crystal with or without flow and the case of a liquid crystal doped with fixed metallic nano-inclusions.

We studied the effect of the ratio between the monomer and cross-linker molecules in the azobenene included liquid crystal polymer films by using the heterodyne transient grating (HD-TG) technique, which is one of the time-resolved measurement techniques. Depending on the ratio, the magnitude of the refractive index change, its anisotropy, and the lifetime of the cis isomer of azobenzene, generated by a UV pulse irradiation. By increasing the cross-linker ratio, the refractive index change and its anisotropy was reduced, indicating less ability for the motion, while slower lifetime was observed by increasing the monomer ratio, indicating that the film is difficult to return the original shape by a visiblelight irradiation. The obtained dynamics was consistent with the functionality of the films.

In this paper, we reported novel liquid-crystalline luminophore that switches its photoluminescent color by mechanically grinding. Mechanochromic luminescence (MCL) is expected for mechanical sensor, cellular imaging, detection of microenvironmental changes, and optical memory. In this work, we focused on liquid-crystalline MCL compounds on alignment layer. Controlling the molecular alignment of MCL compounds with photoalignment layer have potential to succeed in functional MCL film such as polarized micropatterned MCL and directional detection of mechanical stimuli. Herein, we prepared asymmetric rodlike MCL compounds containing cyano- and pyridyl molecular terminal and explored their photoluminescence behavior under mechanical stimulus. The cyano terminated compound showed a nematic phase and tuned its photoluminescent color from green to yellow upon grinding, while the pyridyl-terminated compounds that show no mesophase changed its photoluminescent color from blue to green and reverted to its initial color by heating above its melting point. The cyano-terminated MCL was aligned along the orientation direction of photoalignment layer and pyridyl-terminated MCL exhibited uniaxial alignment when it coated on photoaligned film containing carboxylic acid.

Large aperture and polarizer-free liquid crystal lenses (LC lenses) based on a double-layered structure for ophthalmic applications are demonstrated. The polarizer-free LC lens functions as both of a positive lens and a negative lens with large aperture size of 10mm. The lens power is electrically and continuously tunable ranging from -1.32 Diopter to 1.83 Diopter. To demonstrate the polarization independency, the wavefronts of the LC lenses under different polarized light were measured and discussed. The detail operations of the applied voltage and frequency are also discussed. The imaging performance of the LC lens is also evaluated. This study provide a detail understanding of the polarizer-free LC lenses based on a double-layered structure.

Modeling and experiments on nematic ordering in geometrically frustrated nematic and chiral nematic systems reveals diverse birefringent micro and sub-micro structures, including knotted and linked nematic braids, skyrmions, torons, and hopfions. Here, these complex defect structures are used to illustrate simulations of optical images and visualization of complex nematic fields. Particular attention is given to simulations of images obtained by three-photon excitation fluorescence polarizing microscopy that can unveil complex three dimensional nematic fields at the micrometer scale.

Liquid crystals (LCs) can be employed in biological sensing and applied to label-free immunodetection owing to their unique birefringent, anchoring, alignment and collective properties. Like all different kinds of immunoassays, both sensitivity and specificity are universally the most important key points of concern. In this study, we developed various approaches toward ultrahigh sensitivity in LC-based immunoassays for potential clinical applications. The LC-based immunodetection technique was demonstrated with the cancer biomarker CA125, which is a mucin-like glycoprotein commonly present in the serum of patients with ovarian and other types of cancer. By using LCs with larger birefringence, such as HDN, the sensitivity of immunodetection was drastically enhanced compared to 5CB, which has a relatively lower birefringence and is commonly used in LC biosensing studies. In addition, UV modification of the monolayer of dimethyloctadecyl[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride (DMOAP), which functions as the alignment layer for LCs, is suggested to increase functional groups suitable for covalent binding of biomolecules, stabilizing the immobilized anti-CA125 antibody and the immunocomplex thus formed, and contributing to the lowered detection limit. Finally, we show that it is possible to directly identify the formation of CA125 immunocomplex with HDN in a mixture of antigen and antibody without the need to eliminate unbound or unreacted biomolecules through washing, thereby creating a simplified procedure for faster LC-based immunoassay. It is evident from our results that label-free immunodetection based on birefringent LCs represents a novel biosensing technique with potentials to detect a wide range of biomolecules, providing an alternative to conventional label-based immunoassays.

The exceptionally high 1054-nm laser-damage resistance of photoalignment materials (approaching that of fused silica) has made it possible to fabricate a wide variety of photoaligned liquid crystal (LC) devices for high-peak-power laser applications. Despite these advances, materials selection and photoalignment exposure conditions are still determined using costly and time-consuming “trial-and-error” methods. The contact angle of a fluid droplet on an alignment layer yields important information about LC-surface physicochemical interactions, and as such, it has potential as a rapid and convenient metric for optimizing photoaligned device quality. To this end, we report on efforts to correlate fluid contact angle with surface energy and azimuthal-anchoring energy to aid in the assessment of alignment quality in photoalignment materials systems.

Polymer stabilised blue phase liquid crystals (PSBPLCs) have been investigated for photonics and display applications for the following reasons: optical isotropy in the dark state, ease of fabrication due to the omission of the alignment layer, and sub-millisecond response length. Major barriers to the commercialisation of PSBPLCs are: hysteresis, residual birefringence, and most significantly, high driving voltage. We have chosen to lower the driving voltage through optimization of the mixture (host LC, chiral dopant and monomer). In this paper, investigation of the contribution of the host liquid crystal to the phase stability and electro-optic characteristics of the PSBP will be discussed. The following cases have been investigated: a) A three component host liquid crystal (E8, PE-5CNF (4-Cyano-3-fluorophenyl 4-pentyl benzoate) and CPP-3FF (4-(trans-4-n-propyl cyclohexyl)-3',4'-difluoro-1,1'-biphenyl), LCC Corporation, Japan). For a ratio of E8:PE-CNF:CPP-3FF of 5:3:2, a large BPI window of <50.4°C and low hysteresis was achieved, but the driving voltage was 79V, and b) A single host liquid crystal, 8OCB with chiral dopant CB15. For a ratio for 8OCB:CB15 of 1:1, this mixture demonstrated a significantly lower driving voltage of 65V, but exhibited a smaller BPI window of <27°C. Decrease in the ratio of 8OCB:CB15 also induced the presence of a BPII phase in the mixture. A single host liquid crystal has the advantage of simplicity of composition, and lowered driving voltage. However, the hysteresis and blue phase temperature range needs to be optimised. This investigation concludes upon the suggestion of liquid crystal characteristics which optimises the blue phase temperature range, low hysteresis, switching times and driving voltage.

Several experimental approaches are explored to introduce the E. coli bacteria in a liquid anisotropic host. Fonctionalization of the bacterial surface is experimented with 2 different molecules. The 5CB is first used as host and it is shown that, while the bacteria survive at short term in such an environment, they aggregate into colonies. Water solution of the cromolyn sodium salt is also explored with success and the time stability of corresponding sandwich-like structures is characterized.

Electrically induced reorientation of liquid crystal (LC) director caused by dielectric anisotropy is a fundamental phenomenon widely used in modern technologies. We demonstrate an electrooptic effect in a chiral nematic LC with a distinct oblique-helicoidal director deformation. The effect, predicted theoretically in late 1960-ies, is observed in a chiral nematic (cholesteric) in which the ground field-free state of the director is a right-angle helicoid. In the electric field, the director forms an oblique helicoid with the pitch and cone angle controlled by the field. The effect is observed in a dimer nematic material in which the bend elastic constant is much smaller than its twist counterpart. The heliconical structure can be used in two different geometries of a sandwich-type cell, with the axis of the oblique helicoid being either parallel or perpendicular to the bounding plates. In the first case, the structure can be used as tunable diffraction grating controlled by the in-plane electric field. In the second case, the structure represents an optical Bragg reflector in which the wavelength of reflected light is controlled in a broad spectral range (from ultraviolet to infrared and beyond, depending on the composition) by a top-down electric field; it can find applications in reflective displays, tunable color filters and lasers.

Recent cryo-TEM studies in the helical nanofilament (HNF) phase of several bent-core liquid crystal materials having blue structural color showed that in subsequent layers the nanofilaments twist with respect to each other by about 37º angle, leading to a secondary helical structure that can explain their opal appearance. In this paper, after summarizing these observations, we show additional features that help understanding why the same bent-core homologs P-n-O-PIMB with n ≥ 9 do not show structural color.

Following the mature liquid crystals (LCs) display technology, there is a significant interest in implementing these devices into other non-display applications. Hence the emerging field of LC photonics is becoming increasingly active in which the strong electrooptic properties of LCs are harnessed for these applications particularly for imaging such as the use of SLMs, tunable focus lenses, tunable filters and polarization control devices. In this paper we review our recently developed LC devices integrated into full field optical coherence tomography system, into multi-spectral skin diagnosis system and in extended depth of focus imaging system.

There has been a huge increase in the global demand of energy over the last few years. One of the main contributors to energy consumption in buildings, cars, greenhouses and indoor spaces is the cooling devices needed to maintain the indoor temperature at comfortable levels. To reduce the energy used by cooling devices, we need improved light control in transparent building elements, such as windows. Infrared (IR) reflectors applied to the windows for rejection of infrared light would be very attractive, especially if they do not affect light in the visible region. A method to selectively and precisely control infrared transmission is via the use of cholesteric liquid crystal (Ch-LC) polymer reflectors. Ch-LCs, also known as chiral-nematic LCs, reflect circularly polarized light as a result of their self-organizing molecular helices. The pitch of the helix in these networks determines the wavelength of reflection. In contrast to existing alternatives, they are characterized by a very sharp cut-off between the transmissive and the reflective state enabling exact tailoring of the heat reflection. In this article we have focused on fabrication of infrared reflectors using Ch-LCs and a computational model was used to predict the energy savings of this IR-reflector in an office building in Abu Dhabi which indicated that 6 % energy savings can be realized.

A critical analysis of various nonlinear mechanisms such as laser induced thermal/order parameter changes and flow orientation effects in nematic liquid crystal is presented, along with feasibility demonstrations of all-optical switching and optical image processing and tunable photonics using these mechanisms. The merits and limitation of nematics are discussed together with some preliminary results with Blue Phase liquid crystals that could circumvent some of the limitations.

Silicon photonics allows for high density component integration on a single chip and it brings promise for low-loss, high-bandwidth data processing in modern computing systems. Owing to silicon’s high positive thermo-optic coefficient, temperature fluctuations tend to degrade the device performance. This work explores passive thermal stabilization of silicon photonic devices using nematic liquid crystal (NLC) claddings, as they possess large negative thermo-optic coefficients in addition to low absorption at the telecommunication wavelengths.

We demonstrate a new sort of optical fibers, which are self-assembled from a smectic-A liquid crystal. When this liquid crystal is put in contact with water solution of surfactant CTAB, microfibers start spontaneously growing at the liquid crystal-water interface. The fibers are of very uniform diameter and can be several hundreds of micrometers long. They all have a line topological defect in the core of the fiber with a local optical axis pointing from the defect core towards the surface. The ends of the fiber are of perfect spherical shape. By doping the fibers with a fluorescent dye, we demonstrate guiding of light along the fiber. When the fiber is illuminated with pulsed light, which is absorbed by the dye, we observe Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) lasing in a plane perpendicular to the fiber. The smectic-A fibers are soft and flexible and can be manipulated with laser tweezers demonstrating a promising approach for the realization of soft matter photonic circuits.

Utilizing an optimized azobenzene precursor and polydimethylsiloxane-soft-template-based secondary replication, we achieved light-driven switching of superhydrophobic adhesion of water droplets on a micro-arrayed liquid crystal polymer film, which is cross-linked in nematic phase and guarantees a satisfying stability for practical application. Regulated by alternating irradiation of UV-Vis light (365 nm/530 nm), the micro-arrayed film showed an ideal quick (< 1 min) and reversible switch of superhydrophobic adhesion. This kind of non-contact real-time controllable switching of microdroplet’s adhesion might inspire and facilitate the designs and applications in novel microfluidic devices.

Liquid crystalline materials are well-known to exhibit various kinds of structural defects, whose space-variant optical properties are actually useful for a number of applications, including recently developed integrated optical vortex generators. In addition, since liquid crystal defects display well-defined topological features, their very existence also appears attractive in terms of information storage at the microscopic scale. An illustrative example is provided by frustrated chiral liquid crystals films, in which different localized metastable states can be written by either structured or unstructured light beams. We will present recent results regarding the controlled generation of multiple chiral topological states in liquid crystals.

We investigated the zone structure peculiarities and the photonic density of states (PDS) of the eigen polarizations (EPs) in the system composed of a stack of layers of a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) and an isotropic medium. The problem was solved by Ambartsumian’s layer addition modified method. The influence of the CLC sublayer thicknesses and the thicknesses of the isotropic media layers on the reflection an PDS spectra of the system is investigated.

We studied the dependence of the electrooptical properties of polymer-dispersed vertical aligned liquid crystals on the surface affinity of the liquid crystal and monomer. The liquid crystal mixture with a smaller contact angle formed more cylindrical droplet and showed uniform vertical orientation of liquid crystal molecules. On the other hand, the liquid crystal mixture with a greater contact angle formed spherical droplet and liquid crystal orientation was deformed near the polymer boundary, resulting in a light leakage between crossed polarizers.

Chiral nematic liquid crystals have attracted substantial interest. They spontaneously self-organize to form a helical structure with no complex fabrication procedure required and exhibit a reflection band for a certain wavelength interval. Since the photonic band gap can be tuned by applying external factors (heat, voltage, light, elasticity) chiral nematic liquid crystals are potentially interesting for large area optical filters and shutters, reflective displays and tunable lasers. In this work, a device which consists of a mixture of photo-polymerizable liquid crystal, non-reactive nematic liquid crystal and a chiral dopant is fabricated. By selecting the appropriate chiral dopant concentration, it is possible to make devices for different operation wavelengths. The influence of UV illumination on a partially polymerized chiral liquid crystal is investigated. A blue-wavelength shift of the photonic band gap is obtained as a function of power, duration time of UV illumination and the thickness of the cells. Interestingly the width and depth of the photonic band gap is unaffected by the change in UV curing conditions, which indicates that there is no degradation by the UV light.

The photonic densities of states (PDS) of the eigen polarizations (EPs) in a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) filled with the Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator are calculated. We obtained the dependences for the PDS on the FP resonator plates refractive indices. We showed, that the decrement and increment of the FP resonator plates refractive indices (started with the value, n = n_m , where n_m is the mean value of the CLC refractive index) lead to a sharp increase of the maximum PDS and, consequently, lead to a sharp decrement of the laser excitation threshold. The absorption and emission peculiarities of this system are investigated too. It is shown that the subject system can work as a low threshold laser.

We present preliminary experimental results obtained for a Vertically-Aligned Polymer Stabilized Liquid Crystal (VA-PSLC) with a curing voltage. The curing voltage was found to help reduce the otherwise strong scattering effect of the VA-PSLC. This liquid crystal was placed inside a Fabry-Perot cavity to achieve a wavelength tunable filter. Wavelength tuning range was found to decrease as curing voltage increased, which is consistent with what we expected since molecules were already tilted at a large angle when the curing voltage was high. Shortening of response time was found since the polymer effect helped improve the response speed. The filters can have potential applications in wavelength tuning applications (e.g. WDM) in telecommunication systems where high speed is desirable.