Fractal nematic colloids

Fractals are remarkable examples of self-similarity where a structure or dynamic pattern is repeated over multiple spatial or time scales. However, little is known about how fractal stimuli such as fractal surfaces interact with their local environment if it exhibits order. Here we show geometry-induced formation of fractal defect states in Koch nematic colloids, exhibiting fractal self-similarity better than 90% over three orders of magnitude in the length scales, from micrometers to nanometres. We produce polymer Koch-shaped hollow colloidal prisms of three successive fractal iterations by direct laser writing, and characterize their coupling with the nematic by polarization microscopy and numerical modelling. Explicit generation of topological defect pairs is found, with the number of defects following exponential-law dependence and reaching few 100 already at fractal iteration four. This work demonstrates a route for generation of fractal topological defect states in responsive soft matter.