Mechanical manipulation of diffractive properties of optical holographic gratings from liquid crystalline elastomers

Bošnjaković, Dejan (author), Gregorc, Marko (author), Li, Hui (author), Čopič, Martin (author), Domenici, Valentina (author), Drevenšek Olenik, Irena (author)

An appealing property of optical diffractive structures from elastomeric materials is a possibility to regulate their optical patterns and consequently also their diffractive features with mechanical straining. We investigated the effect of strain on diffraction characteristics of holographic gratings recorded in a monodomain side-chain liquid crystalline elastomer. The strain was imposed either parallel or perpendicular to the initial alignment direction of the material. At temperatures far below the nematic–paranematic phase transition, straining along the initial alignment affects mainly the diffraction pattern, while the diffraction efficiency remains almost constant. In contrast, at temperatures close to the nematic–paranematic phase transition, the diffraction efficiency is also significantly affected. Straining in the direction perpendicular to the initial alignment strongly and diversely influences both the diffraction pattern and the diffraction efficiency. The difference between the two cases is attributed to shear–stripe domains, which form only during straining perpendicular to the initial alignment and cause optical diffraction that competes with the diffraction from the holographic grating structure.

• Language: English
• Keywords: optics, diffraction, holographic gratings, liquid crystalline elastomers, optical diffraction, elasto-optic effect
• 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: 13 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 8, iss. 8, art. 1330
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-131639
• UDC: 535
• ISSN on article: 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app8081330
• COBISS.SI-ID: 3224420
• Publication date in RUL: 30.09.2021

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Applied sciences
• Shortened title: Appl. sci.
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-3417
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522979353

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: 09.08.2018

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: optika, uklon, holografske mrežice, tekočekristalni elastomeri

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P1-0192
• Name: Svetloba in snov