Chirality-enhanced periodic self-focusing of light in soft birefringent media

Poy, Guilhem (author), Hess, Andrew J. (author), Smalyukh, Ivan I. (author), Žumer, Slobodan (author)

We experimentally and numerically show that chirality can play a major role in the nonlinear optical response of soft birefringent materials, by studying the nonlinear propagation of laser beams in frustrated cholesteric liquid crystal samples. Such beams exhibit a periodic nonlinear response associated with a bouncing pattern for the optical fields, as well as a self-focusing effect enhanced by the chirality of the birefringent material. Our results open new possible designs of nonlinear optical devices with low power consumption and tunable interactions with localized topological solitons.

• Language: English
• Keywords: soft matter physics, liquid crystals, optics
• Tipology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FMF - Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• Year: 2020
• Number of pages: str. 077801-1-077801-6
• Numbering: Vol. 125, iss. 7
• UDC: 538.9
• ISSN on article: 0031-9007
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.077801
• COBISS.SI-ID: 24983555
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Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Physical review letters
• Shortened title: Phys. rev. lett.
• Publisher: American Physical Society
• ISSN: 0031-9007
• COBISS.SI-ID: 1282575

Document is financed by a project

• Funder: EC - European Commission
• Funding Programme: H2020
• Project no.: 834256
• Name: Interacting optical and topological solitons in frustrated cholesterics
• Acronym: OPTOSOL

• Funder: ARRS - Agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije (ARRS)
• Project no.: P1-0099
• Name: Fizika mehkih snovi, površin in nanostruktur

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: fizika mehke snovi, tekoči kristali, optika