Self-Organized Periodic Photonic Structure in a Nonchiral Liquid Crystal

L. Z. Ruan, J. R. Sambles, and I. W. Stewart
Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 033901 – Published 15 July 2003

Abstract

A hybrid-aligned cell of the smectic A liquid material 8CB gives two stable director configurations, one of which is periodic and gives strong diffraction of light. This photonic lattice director profile arises from “frustration” caused by conflicting constraints imposed by the boundary conditions and the constant amplitude smectic density wave. A model is proposed which accords well with the experiment results, predicting correctly the dependence of the periodicity on the cell thickness and reproducing optical polarization microscopy results.

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  • Received 16 December 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.033901

©2003 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

L. Z. Ruan and J. R. Sambles

  • Thin Film Photonics Group, School of Physics, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL, United Kingdom

I. W. Stewart

  • Department of Mathematics, University of Strathclyde, Livingstone Tower, 26 Richmond Street, Glasgow G1 1XH, United Kingdom

Comments & Replies

Comment on “Self-Organized Periodic Photonic Structure in a Nonchiral Liquid Crystal”

O. P. Pishnyak, Yu. A. Nastishin, and O. D. Lavrentovich
Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 109401 (2004)

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Vol. 91, Iss. 3 — 18 July 2003

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