Related papers: Photonic gaps in cholesteric elastomers under defo…
We subject a monodomain cholesteric liquid crystal elastomer to uniaxial strain perpendicular to its helical axis and study the response of its texture to deformation. A combination of mechanical, optical and X-ray scattering measurements…
We calculate the photonic band structure at normal incidence of highly deformable, self-assembling systems - cholesteric elastomers subjected to external stress. Cholesterics display brilliant reflection and lasing owing to gaps in their…
Solids with spatially varying photonic structure offer gaps to light of a wider range of frequencies than do simple photonic systems. We solve numerically the field distribution in a solid cholesteric with a linearly varying inverse pitch…
Nonlinear optical propagation in cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) with a spatially periodic helical molecular structure is studied experimentally and modeled numerically. This periodic structure can be seen as a Bragg grating with a…
We have studied spectral properties of a cholesteric liquid crystal with a combined defect consisting of a nanocomposite layer and a twist. The nanocomposite layer is made of metallic nanoballs dispersed in a transparent matrix and…
We theoretically investigate into the effects of the incidence angles in light transmission of cholesteric liquid crystal two-layer sandwich structures with twist defects created by rotation of the one layer about the helical axis.The…
Peculiarities of the defect modes of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) with an isotropic/anisotropic defect inside are investigated. The influence of the defect layer thickness and its anisotropy of refraction, the influence of the system…
The blue phases are observed in highly chiral liquid crystalline compositions that nascently organize into a three-dimensional, crystalline nanostructure. The periodicity of the unit cell lattice parameters is on the order of the wavelength…
We experimentally investigate the Bragg reflection of light at one-dimensionally ordered atomic structures by using cold atoms trapped in a laser standing wave. By a fine tuning of the periodicity, we reach the regime of multiple reflection…
Cholesteric liquid crystals with helicoidal molecular architecture are known for their ability to selectively reflect light with the wavelength that is determined by the periodicity of molecular orientations. Here we demonstrate that by…
Magneto-optical effects in structured anisotropic media have attracted significant attention due to their potential in tunable photonic devices. In particular, dichroic cholesteric liquid crystals (i.e., cholesterics in which the real parts…
Liquid crystalline polymers are materials of considerable scientific interest and technological value to society [1-3]. An important subset of such materials exhibit rubber-like elasticity; these can combine the remarkable optical…
Specific features of the defect modes of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) with an isotropic defect, as well as their photonic density of states, Q factor, and emission, have been investigated. The effect of the thicknesses of the defect…
We investigated the properties of dichroic cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) being in external static magnetic field directed along helix axis. We have shown that in the case of the wavelength dependence of magneto-optic activity…
A new mechanism of Bragg reflection is identified, one that, remarkably, occurs in a uniform medium and relies on resonant tuning of the medium's parameters. Due to uniformity, reflection ensues over a broad wavelength range, much like a…
Novel optical elements containing semitransparent wavelike films embedded into the bulk of transparent material, which form a reflection image without transmitted light distortion, are studied. The dynamic theory of light diffraction by a…
We propose a microscopic model to describe the scattering of light by atoms in optical lattices. The model is shown to efficiently capture Bragg scattering, spontaneous emission and photonic band gaps. A connection to the transfer matrix…
Liquid crystal elastomers are rubber-like solids with liquid crystalline mesogens (stiff, rod-like molecules) incorporated either into the main chain or as a side chain of the polymer. These solids display a range of unusual…
Molecular and polymeric crystals show a wide range of functional properties that arise from the interplay between the atomic-scale structure of their constituent molecules and the organization of these molecules within the crystal lattice…
The ability to selectively redirect specific wavelengths of light has attracted a lot attention for photonic crystal materials. Presently, there is a wealth of research relating to the fabrication and application of photonic crystal…