Topology-commanded optical properties of bistable electric-field-induced torons in cholesteric bubble domains
Nowadays, complicated topological defects enable many experimental manipulations and configurational simulations of active soft matter for optical and photonic applications. Investigation of topological defects in soft anisotropic materials enables one to better understand three-dimensional orientat...
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| Published in: | Scientific reports Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 16149 - 8 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
23-11-2017
Nature Publishing Group |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | Nowadays, complicated topological defects enable many experimental manipulations and configurational simulations of active soft matter for optical and photonic applications. Investigation of topological defects in soft anisotropic materials enables one to better understand three-dimensional orientation fields in cholesteric liquid crystals. Here, we describe optical properties of bistable bubble domain (BD) texture torons in a thin layer of cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC), frustrated by homeotropic anchoring conditions, and reliably switchable by a random process. The control of macroscopic optical density and diffraction efficiency of the BD texture is demonstrated by a selection of a confinement ratio of the CLC. Experimentally reconstructed CLC director profile reveals the topology of BD torons allowing consideration of naturally occurring BD texture for applications in optical and photonic devices, which are bistably switchable between active and transparent optical states. |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 2045-2322 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-017-16241-4 |