Publications by authors named "Yo Inoue"

Previous studies have demonstrated the refraction-type liquid crystal (LC)-based beam-steering devices within the visible wavelength range. However, these devices require substantial improvements in a steering angle for practical application. In this study, we first demonstrate that our device operates as a beam-steering device regardless of the wavelength of an incident laser beam.

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A cholesteric liquid-crystal gel (ChLCG) is fabricated by photopolymerizing a ChLC doped with a mesogenic monomer at a high concentration of 38.2 wt%. The reflection band of the ChLCG exhibits a fast, continuous, and time-varying wavelength shift of the order of kilohertz by applying a sine wave voltage.

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We report fast electro-optic response independent of cell thickness in cholesteric liquid crystals (ChLCs). Usually, an electric field normal to the helix axis of ChLCs induces two fast and one slow response components: helical elongation (slow one), helical deformation (fast one), and flexoelectric effect (fast one). In this study, we found that a planarly aligned ChLC applied with an in-plane electric field exhibited only fast response components because the glass substrates suppressed the motion of the helical elongation.

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We investigated the possibility of practical applications using cholesteric liquid crystals (ChLCs) with Helfrich deformation, which causes the undulation of the helical structure. Usually, the Helfrich deformation is very unstable and can be obtained only in the transient state for a short time (< 10 s) under continuous field application. Here, we found that a ChLC polymerized with spatial pattern distribution exhibited high durability of the Helfrich deformation.

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Continuous tuning of lasing wavelength is achieved in cholesteric liquid crystal lasers by embedding a network of nanopores with an average size of 10 nm filled with liquid crystals inside a polymerized matrix with helical order. The device possesses both high transparency and a fast response time because the tuning is driven by local reorientation of the liquid crystal molecules in the nanopores.

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