Related papers: Photonic gaps in cholesteric elastomers under defo…
Photomechanical liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are responsive polymers that can convert light directly into mechanical deformation. This unique feature makes these materials an attractive candidate for soft actuators capable of remote and…
Photonic crystals with a sufficiently high refractive index contrast display partial or full band gaps. However, imperfections in the metamaterial cause light scattering and extinction of the interfering propagating waves. Positive as well…
There is currently a strong interest in mirrorless lasing systems, in which the electromagnetic feedback is provided either by disorder (multiple scattering in the gain medium) or by order (multiple Bragg reflection). These mechanisms…
Some properties of defect modes of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) are presented. It is shown that when the CLC layer is thin the density of states and emission intensity are maximum for the defect mode, whereas when the CLC layer is…
We study Bragg scattering at 1D atomic lattices. Cold atoms are confined by optical dipole forces at the antinodes of a standing wave generated inside a laser-driven cavity. The atoms arrange themselves into an array of lens-shaped layers…
Liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) containing light-sensitive molecules exhibit large reversible deformation when subjected to illumination. Here, we investigate the role of optical penetration depth on this photomechanical response. We…
Photoactive nematic elastomers are soft rubbery solids that undergo deformation when illuminated. They are made by incorporating photoactive molecules like azobenzene into nematic liquid crystal elastomers. Since its initial demonstration…
We consider interaction of a femtosecond light pulse with a one-dimensional photonic crystal with relaxing cubic nonlinearity in the regime of self-trapping. By use of numerical simulations, it is shown that, under certain conditions, the…
Nematic elastomers and glasses deform spontaneously when subjected to temperature changes. This property can be exploited in the design of heterogeneously patterned thin sheets that deform into a non-trivial shape when heated or cooled. In…
One-dimensional (1D) polymer-based photonic crystals (PhCs) in the $1.55~\mu{}m$ wavelength range can be easily created using a two-photon direct laser writing system. To achieve shorter period structures, we report the use of thermal…
Optical lattice loaded with cold atoms can exhibit a tunable photonic band gap for a weak probe field under the conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. This system possesses a number of advantageous properties, including…
We investigated nonlinear absorption and photobleaching processes in a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) doped with light-sensitive azobenzene moiety. A conventional one-dimensional holographic grating was recorded in the material with the use…
The interaction of polarized light with photonic crystals exhibit unique features due to its sub-wavelength nature on the surface and the periodic variation of refractive index in the depth of the crystals. Here, we present a detailed study…
Recent studies of azo-dye doped liquid crystal elastomers show a strong photomechanical response. We report on models that predict experimental results that suggest photothermal heating is the dominant mechanism in a planar constrained…
We review photonic band gap related properties of a simple periodic system of thin dielectric layers. Properties associated with forbidden and allowed bands of such one-dimensional photonic crystals are presented. A revision of forbidden…
When propagating through periodically structured media, i. e. photonic crystals, optical waves will be modulated with the periodicity. As a result, the dispersion of waves will no longer behave as in a free space, and so called frequency…
We study the optical reflectivity of three-dimensional (3D) photonic band gap crystals with increasing thickness. The crystals consist of GaAs plates with nanorod arrays that are assembled by an advanced stacking method into high-quality 3D…
The optical properties of photonic structures made with more than two materials are very interesting for optical filtering and lighting applications. Herein, we compared the transmission properties of one-dimensional photonic crystals made…
Light forces induced by scattering and absorption in elastic dielectrics lead to local density modulations and deformations. These perturbations in turn modify light propagation in the medium and generate an intricate nonlinear response. We…
Inelastic light scattering from electrons is a symmetry-selective probe of the charge dynamics within correlated materials. Many measurements have been made on correlated insulators, and recent exact solutions in large dimensions explain a…