Liquid crystal tunable claddings for polymer integrated optical waveguides.

Optical waveguides in photonic integrated circuits are traditionally passive elements merely carrying optical signals from one point to another. These elements could contribute to the integrated circuit functionality if they were modulated either by variations of the core optical properties, or by using tunable claddings. In this work, the use of liquid crystals as electro-optically active claddings for driving integrated waveguides has been explored.

Evaluation of replicas manufactured in a 3D-printed nanoimprint unit.

Nanoimprint lithography has become a useful tool to prepare elements containing nanoscale features at quite reasonable cost, especially if the fabrication elements are created in the own laboratory. We have designed and fabricated a whole nanoimprint manufacturing system and analyzed the resulting surfaces using ad hoc packages developed on an open-software AFM image analysis suite. To complete the work, a number of polymers have been thoroughly studied in order to select the best material for this implementation.

All-organic switching polarizer based on polymer waveguides and liquid crystals.

This paper reports on the design, fabrication and characterization of an all-organic photonic integrated circuit working as a switching polarizer for visible light (630nm), combining organic waveguides and liquid crystals that can be electrically driven. The device was made in commercially available epoxy by laser direct writing lithography. A device with a 2dB loss and a 20dB extinction ratio for both polarizations, was simulated; the manufactured devices proved the working principle of the design.

A 3D-printed device for polymer nanoimprint lithography.

Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is an imprinting technique which has experienced an increasing popularity due to its versatility in fabrication processes. Commercial NIL machines are readily available achieving high quality results; however, these machines involve a relatively high investment. Hence, small laboratories often choose to perform NIL copies in a more rudimentary and cheaper way.

Liquid crystal spherical microlens array with high fill factor and optical power.

A novel liquid crystal spherical microlens array with high optical power and almost 100% of fill-factor is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The combination of a specific structure and electrical waveforms applied to the electrodes generates an array of spherical microlenses with square aperture. The manufacturing process is simple (patterned electrodes) and the microlenses are reconfigurable by low voltage signals (the electrodes are in contact with the LC layer).

Morphology of SiO films as a key factor in alignment of liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy.

Control of liquid crystal (LC) orientation using a proper SiO alignment layer is essential for the optimization of vertically aligned nematic (VAN) displays. With this aim, we studied the optical anisotropy of thin SiO films by generalized ellipsometry as a function of deposition angle. The columnar SiO structure orientation measured by a noninvasive ellipsometry technique is reported for the first time, and its morphology influence on the LC alignment is demonstrated for large deposition angles.

Reorientation of single-wall carbon nanotubes in negative anisotropy liquid crystals by an electric field.

Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) are anisotropic nanoparticles that can cause modifications in the electrical and electro-optical properties of liquid crystals. The control of the SWCNT concentration, distribution and reorientation in such self-organized fluids allows for the possibility of tuning the liquid crystal properties. The alignment and reorientation of CNTs are studied in a system where the liquid crystal orientation effect has been isolated.

Thermally tunable polarization by nanoparticle plasmonic resonance in photonic crystal fibers.

A photonic crystal fiber selectively filled with silver nanoparticles dispersed in polydimethylsiloxane has been numerically studied via finite elements analysis. These nanoparticles possess a localized surface plasmon resonance in the visible region which depends on the refractive index of the surrounding medium. The refractive index of polydimethylsiloxane can be thermally tuned leading to the design of polarization tunable filters.

Electrical response of liquid crystal cells doped with multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

The inclusion of nanoparticles modifies a number of fundamental properties of many materials. Doping of nanoparticles in self-organized materials such as liquid crystals may be of interest for the reciprocal interaction between the matrix and the nanoparticles. Elongated nanoparticles and nanotubes can be aligned and reoriented by the liquid crystal, inducing noticeable changes in their optical and electrical properties.

Point diffraction interferometer with a liquid crystal monopixel.

In this work a novel point diffraction interferometer based on a variable liquid crystal wave plate (LCWP) has been implemented. The LCWP consists of a 3x3 cm(2) monopixel cell with parallel alignment. The monopixel cell was manufactured such that the electrode covers the entire surface except in a centered circular area of 50 μm of diameter.

Switching of ferroelectric liquid crystal doped with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-assisted CdS nanostructures.

Large scale high yield cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanowires with uniform diameter were synthesized using a rapid and simple solvo-chemical and hydrothermal route assisted by the surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Unique CdS nanowires of different morphologies could be selectively produced by only varying the concentration of CTAB in the reaction system with cadmium acetate, sulfur powder and ethylenediamine. We obtained CdS nanowires with diameters of 64-65 nm and lengths of up to several micrometers.