Optical properties of metamaterial split ring nematic colloids

Pusovnik, Anja (author), Aplinc, Jure (author), Ravnik, Miha (author)

The fabrication of 3D bulk metamaterials, optical materials with sub-wavelength building blocks, is an open challenge, along with the tuning of their optical properties, such as transmissivity or exit polarization where a possible approach is to embed liquid crystalline materials into metamaterials and use their tunable birefringence. In this work, we explore using numerical modelling the photonic properties of a composite of split ring resonator colloidal particles, dispersed in nematic liquid crystal, which was optimised to enable self-assembly fully. Specifcally, using generalised FDTD simulations for light propagation in birefringent profles, we demonstrate the photonic response of single particles, 2D and 3D colloidal crystals. The material transmittance is shown to exhibit clear resonant behaviour with the resonances tunable with the birefringence in the order of ~5%. Electric and magnetic feld modes emergent on the particles are shown, as afected by the surrounding nematic birefringence, both the in the slit region of the split ring resonator (SRR) particles as well as around the particles. Observed photonic response is further explained by introducing basic equivalent LC circuits. Finally, this work is aimed at developing soft and fuid metamaterials, which exhibit optical anisotropy in the photonic response as a potent mechanism for controlling the fow of light at wavelength and even sub-wavelength scales.

• Language: English
• Keywords: nematic colloids, colloidal crystals, optical properties, photonics, metamaterials
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FMF - Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2019
• Number of pages: 10 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 9, art. 7025
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-128546
• UDC: 535
• ISSN on article: 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-43470-6
• COBISS.SI-ID: 3307876
• Publication date in RUL: 19.07.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Scientific reports
• Shortened title: Sci. rep.
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• COBISS.SI-ID: 18727432

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 07.05.2019

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: nematski koloidi, koloidni kristali, optične lastnosti, fotonika, metamateriali