L404
Liquid Crystal Photonics: Manipulation of Lightwave by Means of Photoresponsive Liquid Crystals
Tomiki Ikeda
Research Laboratory of Resources Utilization,Tokyo Inst. Tech.
Manipulation of light by photosensitive liquid crystals (LCs) is presented, in which a variety of modes were found to be quite effective: transmission-, reflection-, scattering- and diffraction-mode manipulation. Photochromic molecules were used as the photoresponsive moieties and incorporated into LC molecules, which gave photochromic LCs. In azobenzene LCs, trans-cis photoisomerization led to disappearance of LC phase, since the trans isomer showed LC phase while the cis isomer never exhibited the LC phase. With these properties, very fast response was obtained for the photochromic LCs in change of the phase and thus in change of the optical properties of the LC cells.
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