Sensen Li

Demonstration of patterned polymer-stabilized cholesteric liquid crystal textures for anti-counterfeiting two-dimensional barcodes

We evaluated the feasibility of embedding periodically arranged squares with planar and vertical texture into a background with a developable-modulation (DM) type cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) fingerprint texture by a two-step ultraviolet-induced polymerization method. Checker-patterned optical diffractive elements, which can be seen as a variation of a two-dimensional (2D) barcode, were first realized and the dependence of diffraction behaviors on incident light polarization and applied voltage were investigated. Taking advantage of the natural randomness and uncontrollable variations of a DM-type fingerprint textures, a polymer-stabilized CLC (PSCLC) graphic symbol with a 2D barcode pattern was then implemented with enhanced anti-counterfeiting features that are difficult to falsify or duplicate. The results indicate that the multiplexing of nonuniform DM-type fingerprint gratings, cross-polarized light readout, and unique polarization diffraction characteristics can improve the level of security.

Enhanced Pockels effect in GaN∕AlxGa1−xN superlattice measured by polarization-maintaining fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer

Six-period 4 nm GaN/10 nm AlxGa1-xN superlattices with different Al mole fractions x were prepared on (0001) sapphire substrates by low-temperature metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The linear electro-optic (Pockels) effect was studied by a polarization-maintaining fiber-optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer system with an incident light wavelength of 1.55 mu m. The measured electro-optic coefficients, gamma(13)=5.60 +/- 0.18 pm/V, gamma(33)=19.24 +/- 1.21 pm/V (for sample 1, x=0.3), and gamma(13)=3.09 +/- 0.48 pm/V, gamma(33)=8.94 +/- 0.36 pm/V (for sample 2, x=0.1), respectively, are about ten times larger than those of GaN bulk material. The enhancement effect in GaN/AlxGa1-xN superlattice can be attributed to the large built-in field at the interfaces, depending on the mole fraction of Al

Fabrication of 2D photonic crystals with micron to sub-micron hexagonal lattices using single-exposure holographic technique

A single-exposure holographic technique for fabricating 2-dimensional photonic crystals (PCs) with hexagonal lattices is presented. A specially made holographic optical element (HOE), which consists of three holographic gratings, is used to generate three interference beams simultaneously under the illumination of a single laser beam. Theoretical analysis indicates that by selecting appropriate grating period and illuminating wavelength, the hexagonal lattice patterns formed by the interference of the three beams can have the lattice constants in the range from micron to sub-micron. Moreover, to obtain uniform lattice pattern with high contrast, the gratings in the HOE must have proper grating shape and depth. In the experiment, hexagonal lattices with lattice constants from 5 μm to 620 nm were fabricated in photoresist using the method. The patterned photoresist layers can be used as the masks to generate PCs in semiconductor materials through dry or wet etchings.

Fabrication of blazed holographic gratings with two-step technique

A two-step technique of fabricating blazed holographic grating is presented. The grating fabrication includes two exposures and two developments. In the first step, two collimated laser beams with symmetrical incidence about the normal of the holographic plate generate a grating with quasi-sinusoidal groove profile after the first development. In the second step only one collimated laser beam irradiates on the plate with a selected incident angle, resulting in a change of groove profile into quasi-triangular after the second development. A blazed holographic grating with 65% relative diffraction efficiency under non-auto-collimation was obtained in the experiment. The scanning electron micrographs clearly show the quasi-triangular groove profile of the grating. The factors that affect the groove profile are discussed.

Competitive excitation and osmotic-pressure-mediated control of lasing modes in cholesteric liquid crystal microshells

We examined the end-pumped lasing behaviors of dye doped cholesteric liquid crystal (DDCLC) microshells which were fabricated by glass capillary microfluidics. Several kinds of mode resonances, including distributed feedback, Fabry–Perot (FP), and whispering gallery (WG) modes, can be robustly constructed in each individual DDCLC microshell by varying the beam diameter, namely, tuning the DDCLC gain area. The FP and WG modes were further confirmed experimentally, and the corresponding lasing mechanisms are clearly revealed from the unique material characteristics of DDCLC and the geometrical structure of the microshell. Additionally, we demonstrated that the osmotic pressure can be used to shrink/expand the microshell, productively tuning the excitation of lasing modes in a controlled manner. We wish our findings can provide a new insight into the design of DDCLC microlasers with tunable optical properties.

Influence of fabrication parameters on groove profile of blazed gratings made with two-step holographic technique

The two-step holographic technique of fabricating blazed gratings has been successfully applied to common positive photoresist. Influence of three fabrication parameters in the second step on groove profile of blazed gratings was studied experimentally. The three fabrication parameters are exposure, incident angle of laser beam and development time. The exposure distribution on the cross-section of one groove stripe of grating was modeled. Results of experiment and modeling with various exposures reveal that the technique is effective only when the symmetrical contour lines of exposure in the first step fade out with increasing second exposure. With other parameters fixed, experiments were also carried out with the beam incident angle varying from 10° to 80° and with the development time varying from 1 s to 9 s. Blazed gratings with quasi-triangular are obtained when incident angle reaches 40° and when development time reaches 5 s. Scanning electron micrographs of the results are presented. Blazed gratings with observed blaze angles of 20° to 50° were obtained by changing the incident angle. Efficiencies of different diffraction orders for gratings with various incident angles are also given.

Fabrication of holographic photonic crystal template with back incident interference beams

Photonic crystal template can be fabricated by holographic lithography in photoresist. A method for enhancing the quality of holographic photonic crystal template is mentioned in this paper. Because light energy is absorbed by photoresist while propagating through the material, the exposure decreases with the depth of the photoresist layer. In order to compensate for the light energy losing in exposure process, the recording plate is flipped to let the interference beams incident on the side of glass substrate instead of the surface of the material. During the development, the etching is proceeding quickly into the lower part of the material while the structure on the surface is maintained. Experimentally, face centered cubic lattice structures were fabricated in the AZ-4620 positive photoresist using an Ar+ laser with wavelength of 458 nm. Good 3D lattice structures have been obtained using this method. Theoretical analysis, computer simulation and experimental results obtained with the interference beams incident on different sides of the photoresist plate are presented in the paper.

Magnetic Nanoparticle-Assisted Tunable Optical Patterns from Spherical Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Bragg Reflectors

Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) exhibit selective Bragg reflections of circularly polarized (CP) light owing to their spontaneous self-assembly abilities into periodic helical structures. Photonic cross-communication patterns could be generated toward potential security applications by spherical cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) structures. To endow these optical patterns with tunability, we fabricated spherical CLC Bragg reflectors in the shape of microshells by glass-capillary microfluidics. Water-soluble magnetofluid with Fe3O4 nanoparticles incorporated in the inner aqueous core of CLC shells is responsible for the non-invasive transportable capability. With the aid of an external magnetic field, the reflection interactions between neighboring microshells and microdroplets were identified by varying the mutual distance in a group of magnetically transportable and unmovable spherical CLC structures. The temperature-dependent optical reflection patterns were investigated in close-packed hexagonal arrangements of seven CLC microdroplets and microshells with inverse helicity handedness. Moreover, we demonstrated that the magnetic field-assisted assembly of microshells array into geometric figures of uppercase English letters “L” and “C” was successfully achieved. We hope that these findings can provide good application prospects for security pattern designs.

Dynamic cholesteric liquid crystal superstructures photoaligned by one-step polarization holography

A convenient approach to modulate the fingerprint textures of methyl red (MR) doped cholesteric liquid crystals by asymmetric photoalignment in the green-light waveband is presented, resulting in the generation of voltage-controllable helical superstructures. The interaction between the MR molecules and the incident light polarization determines the initial twisted planar geometry, providing a multivariant control over the stripe directions of fingerprint textures by applying a proper electric field. The key factors for precise manipulation of fingerprint stripes in a predictable and rewritable manner are analyzed theoretically and investigated experimentally, which involves the alignment asymmetry, the ratio of cell gap to natural pitch length, and the chirality of chiral dopant. Dynamic periodic fingerprint textures in shapes of dashed curve and dashed line are further demonstrated by utilizing a facile one-step polarization holography process using two beams with orthogonal circular and orthogonal linear polarizations, respectively. It is believed that the practical approach described in this study would enrich the research contents of self-assembled hierarchical superstructures using soft liquid crystal building blocks.A convenient approach to modulate the fingerprint textures of methyl red (MR) doped cholesteric liquid crystals by asymmetric photoalignment in the green-light waveband is presented, resulting in the generation of voltage-controllable helical superstructures. The interaction between the MR molecules and the incident light polarization determines the initial twisted planar geometry, providing a multivariant control over the stripe directions of fingerprint textures by applying a proper electric field. The key factors for precise manipulation of fingerprint stripes in a predictable and rewritable manner are analyzed theoretically and investigated experimentally, which involves the alignment asymmetry, the ratio of cell gap to natural pitch length, and the chirality of chiral dopant. Dynamic periodic fingerprint textures in shapes of dashed curve and dashed line are further demonstrated by utilizing a facile one-step polarization holography process using two beams with orthogonal circular and orthogonal line...

Photoalignment of dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystals for electrically tunable patterns with fingerprint textures

We present a convenient photoalignment approach to fabricate rewritable fingerprint textures with designed geometrical patterns based on methyl red doped cholesteric liquid crystals (MDCLCs). MDCLC systems with/without nanoparticles of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) were employed to realize two types of sophisticated binary patterns, respectively. Based on the understanding of involved mechanisms related to boundary conditions and middle-layer theory, we demonstrated the precise manipulation of fingerprint patterns by varying the fingerprint grating vectors in different domains. Notably, the hybrid-aligned liquid crystal configuration induced by POSS nanoparticles, which leads to the electrically rotatable grating, can be converted into the planar-aligned configuration by the adsorption of photoexcited methyl red molecules onto the indium-tin-oxide (ITO) surface. In this manner, the dynamic voltage-dependent behavior of fingerprint gratings is altered from the rotation mode (R-mode) to the on-off mode (O-mode).