Lensing and waveguiding in birefringent double-twist cylinders demonstrated using FDTD simulations

Pišljar, Jaka (author), Ravnik, Miha (author)

We demonstrate that birefringent profiles of double-twist cylinders, found in some chiral nematic systems such as blue phases, can perform as polarization-selective microlenses and waveguides in the regime of negative birefringence. Specifically, we solve Maxwell’s equations using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, to simulate light propagation through double-twist cylinder birefringent structures. We show that, in case of negative material birefringence, azimuthally polarized beams experience lensing which can further be extended to waveguiding in double-twist cylinders. Lensing and waveguiding efficiency are shown to be strongly dependent on the ratio between the width of the double-twist cylinder profile and the beam width. We further characterize waveguiding in terms of losses, which are investigated in case of straight as well as curved double-twist cylinders. More generally, this work is a contribution to the design and development of (soft) birefringent profiles for optical and photonic applications.

• Language: English
• Keywords: optics, photonics, birefringence, nematic liquid crystals, lensing, waveguiding
• 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: 2018
• Number of pages: Str. 26327-26338
• Numbering: Vol. 26, no. 20, art. 338171
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-128561
• UDC: 535.5
• ISSN on article: 1094-4087
• DOI: 10.1364/OE.26.026327
• COBISS.SI-ID: 3242852

Copyright

V članku navedeno: "© 2018 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement"; s povezavo https://www.osapublishing.org/library/license_v1.cfm. (19. 7. 2021)

• Publication date in RUL: 19.07.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Optics express
• Shortened title: Opt. express
• Publisher: Optica
• ISSN: 1094-4087
• COBISS.SI-ID: 8636438

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: optika, fotonika, dvolomnost, nematski tekoči kristali, lečenje, valovodi