Chia Yi Huang

Polymer-dispersed liquid crystal films for storing optical holographic images

We have developed an economic liquid crystal-polymer dispersion material that can be used for storing optical holographic images. In this paper, we demonstrate the use of thin samples of this material for such an application. The obtained results show that the written gratings-holograms are permanent, but are electrically switchable. Furthermore, the diffraction efficiency is high and does not change significantly after many tests over a period of months. Thus, we believe this material is promising for practical uses.

High responsivity of GaN p - i - n photodiode by using low-temperature interlayer

Gallium nitride p-i-n ultraviolet photodiodes with low-temperature (LT)-GaN interlayer have been fabricated. It was found that the dark current of photodiode with LT-GaN interlayer is as small as 143pA at 5V reverse bias. It was also found that the responsivity of the photodiode with LT-GaN interlayer can be enhanced at a small electric field (∼0.4MV∕cm) due to the carrier multiplication effect. The UV photocurrent gain of 13 and large ionization coefficient (α=3.1×105cm−1) were also observed in the detector with LT-GaN interlayer. Furthermore, we can achieve a large peak responsivity of 2.27A∕W from the photodiode with LT-GaN interlayer.

Linear polarization rotators based on dye-doped liquid crystal cells

Linear polarization rotator is fabricated by a single-side homogenously aligned dye-doped liquid crystal cell and linear variable neutral density filter (LVNDF). When a pump beam passing through the transmittance-linear region of LVNDF irradiates on the untreated surface, the surface LC director in the irradiation region is photoaligned into a continuous twist from 0° to 90°. Consequently, the bulk director gradually transits from a homogeneous to twist orientation. This device is capable of rotating the polarization of an input linearly polarized light depending on the beam position, exhibiting a large continuous twist region (5.6 mm) and high contrast ratio (∼1000:1).

Dynamics of photoalignment in azo-dye-doped liquid crystals

A transmitted light without analyzer was led into the pump-probe twist nematic experiment in azo-dye-doped liquid crystals to observe the light scattering from the dye-adsorbed surface during photoalignment. The morphology of the dye-absorbed surface monitored by this transmitted light is correlated with the formation of the ripple structure, which is reflected by the anchoring of the dye-adsorbed layer, which is, in turn, revealed by measuring the surface director reorientation angle throughout the process. As the regular ripple structure is gradually formed, the Rayleigh scattering is transferred to the Mie scattering since the scale of the ripple structure is at the wavelength.

All-optical and polarization-independent spatial filter based on a vertically-aligned polymer-stabilized liquid crystal film with a photoconductive layer.

An all-optical and polarization-independent spatial filter was developed in a vertically-aligned (VA) polymer-stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC) film with a photoconductive (PC) layer. This spatial filter is based on the effect of light on the conductivity of PC layer: high (low)-intensity light makes the conductivity of the PC layer high (low), resulting in a low (high) threshold voltage of the PC-coated VA PSLC cell. Experimental results indicate that this spatial filter is a high-pass filter with low optical-power consumption (about 1.11 mW/cm(2)) in an optical Fourier transform system. The high-pass characteristic was confirmed by simulation. Accordingly, the all-optical and polarization-independent spatial filter can be used to enhance the edges of images.

Wide-band tunable photonic bandgaps based on nematic-refilling cholesteric liquid crystal polymer template samples

This work first reports wide-band tunable photonic bandgap (PBG) devices based on nematic-refilling cholesteric liquid crystal polymer template samples. By changing the type of refilling nematic liquid crystal (NLC) and sample cell gap, the PBG features of the template sample can be crucially influenced. A physical model related with the NLC infiltration into the template nanopores based on capillary action is used to qualitatively explain the tunable PBG features of the refilling template samples. In addition, a nearly full white (480 nm − 720 nm) spatially tunable PBG device based on a NLC-refilling template wedge cell is demonstrated.

Spatially band-tunable color-cone lasing emission in a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal with a photoisomerizable chiral dopant

This study investigates a spatially band-tunable color-cone lasing emission (CCLE) based on a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal with a photoisomerizable chiral dopant (IBM). Experimental results show that the lasing band of the formed CCLE of the cell with a photoinduced pitch gradient can be spatially tuned among various color regions by adjusting the pumped position of the cell. The spatially band tunability of the laser results from the UV-irradiation-induced decrease of the helical twisting power of IBM via trans-->cis isomerization, accordingly shrinking the pitch of the cholesteric-liquid-crystal host. The total spatially tunable wavelength range for the laser exceeds 100 nm.

Optically band-tunable color cone lasing emission in a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal with a photoisomerizable chiral dopant

This work demonstrates the feasibility of an optically band-tunable color cone lasing emission (CCLE) based on a dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal with a photoisomerizable chiral dopant. Experimental results indicate that the lasing band of the formed CCLE can be tuned optically among various color regions by adjusting the UV irradiated fluence. The optical band tunability of the laser is attributed to the presence of two chiral agents with twisting powers of opposite signs in the cell and the UV-irradiation-induced decrease of the right-handed twisting power of the photoisomerizable chiral dopant via trans→cis isomerization, subsequently inducing the other chiral agent to reduce the structural pitch of the cell. Total tunable wavelength range of the laser exceeds 100 nm. Moreover, the band-tunable laser exhibits a high spectral stability under illumination of a visible light or thermal treatment.

Determination of polar anchoring energy of dye-doped liquid crystals by measuring capacitance

Polar anchoring energy of a dye-doped liquid crystal (DDLC) cell is determined based on capacity measurements. Experimental results indicate that under the illumination of a pump beam, the polar anchoring energy (7.90×10−6 J/m2) includes the adsorption-induced anchoring energy (5.74×10−6 J/m2) and the preexisting-dye-induced anchoring energy (2.16×10−6 J/m2). The latter is attributed to the torque, which is induced by the dye molecules on the boundary surface even before illumination. After the illumination, the adsorption-induced anchoring energy remains and the preexisting-dye-induced anchoring energy disappears, with the former revealing that weak anchoring affects the decay time and threshold voltage of the DDLC cell. Moreover, plotting the polar angle distributions in the DDLC cell reveals its correlation with variations in the capacitance of the DDLC cell.

Widely tunable photonic bandgap and lasing emission in enantiomorphic cholesteric liquid crystal templates

Dye-doped nematic liquid crystal refilled gradient-pitched enantiomorphic cholesteric liquid crystal polymer templates are demonstrated. The enantiomorphic device has high reflectivity and wide spectral tunability throughout the entire visible region. This device can also provide low threshold lasing emission with both right- and left-circular polarizations from the blue to the red region.