Related papers: Polarization gratings spontaneously formed by the …
Ferroelectric nematic phases are a new class of polar fluids in which spontaneous polarization is directly coupled to the orientational order, providing unique opportunities for creating self-organized materils with spatially modulated…
The twist-bend nematic (Ntb) phase is a recent addition to the nematic (N) phases of liquid crystals (LCs). A net polar order in the Ntb phase under an external electric field was predicted in several recent theoretical studies but yet to…
Nematics with a broken polar symmetry is one of the fascinating recent discoveries in the field of soft matter. High spontaneous polarisation and the fluidity of the ferroelectric nematic $N_{\mathrm{F}}$ phase make such materials…
We analyze the alignment of molecules generated by a pair of crossed ultra-short pump pulses of different polarizations by a technique based on the induced time-dependent gratings. Parallel polarizations yield an intensity grating, while…
Generation of particular polarization states of light, encoding information in polarization degree of freedom, and efficient measurement of unknown polarization are the key tasks in optical metrology, optical communications,…
For holographic gratings recorded in superparamagnetic nanoparticle-polymer composites the diffraction efficiency should -- next to grating spacing, nanoparticle concentration and grating thickness -- depend on the strength of an external…
We present magneto-optic measurements on two materials that form the recently discovered twist-bend nematic (Ntb) phase. This intriguing state of matter represents a new fluid phase that is orientationally anisotropic in three directions…
Structural coloration, a color-generation mechanism often found in nature, arises from light-matter interactions such as diffraction, interference and scattering, with micro- and nanostructured elements. Herein, we systematically study…
We present a theoretical model which describes the polarization modulated and layer undulated structure of the B7 phase and gives the phase transition from the synclinic ferroelectric B2 phase to the B7 phase as observed experimentally. The…
In soft ferroelectric crystals, the depolarization field can be reduced by periodic distortion of the polarization direction. In the polar nematic and tilted smectic phases, this process is energetically favorured , as it only requires…
In this study, we demonstrate that when a ferroelectric nematic is confined between two glass plates coated with ionic polymers, a modulated phase emerges in a narrow temperature range between the nematic and ferroelectric nematic phases.…
In undergraduate optics courses, diffraction gratings are studied extensively, generally within the scalar approximation. When the vector nature of light is taken into account, so-called polarization diffraction gratings have been proposed,…
We report experimental observation and theoretical explanation of novel propagation regimes for optical beams in an artificial nonlinear material with outstanding photorefractive properties. Nondiffractive beams, which keep their shapes…
Understanding of material behaviour at nanoscale under intense laser excitation is becoming critical for future application of nanotechnologies. Nanograting formation by linearly polarised ultra-short laser pulses has been studied…
Polarization textures of light may reflect fundamental phenomena such as topological defects, and can be utilized in engineering light beams. Three main routes are applied during their creation: spontaneous appearance in phase transitions,…
Nanothermochromic diffraction gratings based on the metal-insulator transition of $\mathrm{VO_2}$ are fabricated by site-selective ion beam implantation in a $\mathrm{SiO_2}$ matrix. Gratings were defined either (i) directly by spatially…
In culture migrating and interacting amoeboid cells can form nematic liquid crystal phases. A polar nematic liquid crystal is formed if the interaction has a polar symmetry. One type of white blood cells (granulocytes) form clusters where…
Only a few years have passed since discovery of polar nematics, and now they are becoming the most actively studied liquid crystal materials. Despite numerous breakthrough findings made recently, a theoretical systematization is still…
The recently discovered ferroelectric nematic liquids incorporate to the functional combination of fluidity, processability and anisotropic optical properties of nematic liquids, an astonishing range of physical properties derived from the…
In liquid crystals, if flexoelectric couplings between polar order and director gradients are strong enough, the uniform nematic phase can become unstable to formation of a modulated polar phase. Previous theories have predicted two types…