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Deformation‐Free, Microsecond Electro‐Optic Tuning of Liquid Crystals
Author(s) -
Inoue Yo,
Yoshida Hiroyuki,
Kubo Hitoshi,
Ozaki Masanori
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
advanced optical materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.89
H-Index - 91
ISSN - 2195-1071
DOI - 10.1002/adom.201200028
Subject(s) - materials science , liquid crystal , mesogen , microsecond , polarization (electrochemistry) , optics , phase (matter) , optoelectronics , birefringence , deformation (meteorology) , polymer , composite material , liquid crystalline , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics
Fast (∼10 μs) and deformation‐free electro‐optic tuning of a liquid crystal is reported, achieved by macroscopic alignment and switching of nanosized, pseudo‐nematic domains. The tuning mode can be achieved by photopolymerizing a mesogenic monomer–liquid crystal mixture in the liquid crystal phase, and forming nanosized pores in the polymer matrix. This concept is particularly effective in liquid crystals with spontaneous structure‐forming capabilities: here this concept is applied to a cholesteric liquid crystal and demonstrate scatter‐free tuning of the Bragg reflection band. It can also lead to new device applications such as thin‐film optical amplitude modulators and linear polarization rotators.