Liquid crystal 3D optical waveguides based on photoalignment

Ropač, Peter (author), Hsiao, Yu-Tung (author), Berteloot, Brecht (author), Ussembayev, Yera (author), Nys, Inge (author), Ravnik, Miha (author), Neyts, Kristiaan (author)

A novel design and approach for the realization of liquid crystal optical waveguides using photopatterning as a manufacturing method is presented. The developed method is used to demonstrate straight waveguides of different widths and curved waveguides with different radius of curvature. The waveguides are terminated with +1 or −1 surface defects through which the light incouples/outcouples. The effect of the straight waveguide thickness and the radius of curvature of the curved waveguides on the attenuation of the light in the waveguide is experimentally explored. The experiments are supported with numerical simulations of light propagation through both types of waveguides and outcoupling out of the straight waveguides. Furthermore, the effect of the size of the −1 defect terminations on the outcoupling efficiency is explored using simulations. Based on the presented design and manufacturing approach, liquid crystal optical waveguides of various shapes can be realized accurately with low-cost.

• Language: English
• Keywords: soft matter physics, liquid crystals, photonics, photopatterning, optical waveguides
• 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: 2025
• Number of pages: 8 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 13, iss. 4, art. no. 2402174
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-167047
• UDC: 535:538.9
• ISSN on article: 2195-1071
• DOI: 10.1002/adom.202402174
• COBISS.SI-ID: 214225411
• Publication date in RUL: 05.02.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Advanced optical materials
• Shortened title: Adv. opt. mater.
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 2195-1071
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522945817

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: fizika mehke snovi, tekoči kristali, fotonika, fotostrukturiranje, optični valovodi