Geometric phase and o-mode blue shift in a chiral anisotropic medium inside a Fabry-P\'erot cavity

Anomalous spectral shift of transmission peaks is observed in a Fabry--P\'erot cavity filled with a chiral anisotropic medium. The effective refractive index value resides out of the interval between the ordinary and the extraordinary refractive indices. The spectral shift is explained by contribution of a geometric phase. The problem is solved analytically using the approximate Jones matrix method, numerically using the accurate Berreman method and geometrically using the generalized Mauguin--Poincar\'e rolling cone method. The $o$-mode blue shift is measured for a 4-methoxybenzylidene-4'-$n$-butylaniline twisted--nematic layer inside the Fabry--P\'erot cavity. The twist is electrically induced due to the homeoplanar--twisted configuration transition in an ionic-surfactant-doped liquid crystal layer. Experimental evidence confirms the validity of the theoretical model.Comment: the text is available both in English (Timofeev2015en.tex) and in Russian (download: other formats - source - Timofeev2015ru.tex, Timofeev2015rus.pdf

Electric field-controlled transformation of the eigenmodes in a twisted-nematic Fabry-Perot cavity

The polarized optical states in the transmission spectrum of a twisted-nematic Fabry–Pérot cavity with the distinctly broken Mauguin’s waveguide regime have been theoretically and experimentally investigated. Specific features of the electric field-induced transformation of the polarization and spectral characteristics of eigenmodes of the neighboring series at the overlap resonant frequencies have been examined. It is demonstrated that the linear polarizations of eigenmodes at the cavity boundaries remain nearly orthogonal and their frequency trajectories reproduce the avoided crossing phenomenon. The experimental data are confirmed analytically and by the numerical simulation of light transmission through the investigated anisotropic multilayer with the use of a Berreman matrix method. The results obtained can be generalized to any materials with the helix response

Temperature dependence of the effective anchoring energy for a nematic-ferroelectric interface

Specific features of the anisotropic interaction between a nematic mixture and a polar surface of a ferroelectric triglycine sulfate crystal have been studied over a wide temperature range including the substrate's Curie point Tc. The mixture was composed of two nematic liquid crystals, 60% of p-methoxybenzylidene-p-n-butylaniline (MBBA) and 40% of p-ethoxybenzylidene-p-n-butylaniline (EBBA), and doped with a small amount of a dichroic dye. The temperature dependence of the polarized components of optical density Dj of the dye absorption band for the nematic and isotropic phases of the MBBA+EBBA mixture has been obtained using polarization optic techniques. The temperature-induced structural changes in the nematic layer near Tc were found to be related to the changes in the orientational part of the tensor order parameter Qik. The experimental data have been interpreted using the model, in which the dispersive van der Waals forces of the substrate stabilize the planar orientation of the nematic in the bulk competing with the short-range anchoring forces in the vicinity of Tc. At the same time, the anisotropic part of the surface energy has two terms with the orthogonal easy axes. The nature of the surface electric field and its effect on the director alignment at the interface have been clarified. Taking into account the known relation between anchoring strength and the nematic order parameter, the effective anchoring energy weff for the studied system has been determined as a function of temperature

Angular tuning of defect modes spectrum in the one-dimensional photonic crystal with liquid-crystal layer

A one-dimensional ZrO2/SiO2 photonic crystal with a 4-n -pentyl-4' -cyanobiphenyl (5CB) nematic defect layer was used to investigate the transmission spectra of light polarized parallel and perpendicular to the liquid-crystal director at different angles of incidence. The spectra of the photonic crystal were shown to split into four polarized components Tij at oblique incidence. When the incident angle increased, the bandgap edges and the defect modes shifted towards short wavelengths, while the amplitudes of the defect modes increased for the transverse magnetic polarization and decreased for the transverse electric polarization. The observed discrepancy between the defect mode amplitudes in the center and near the edges of the photonic bandgap was found to be related to the radiation losses inside the defect layer of a non-ideal photonic crystal. The simulated transmission spectra obtained using recurrence relations and taking into account the decay of defect modes are in good agreement with the experimental data

Modulation of defect modes intensity by controlled light scattering in photonic crystal with liquid crystal domain structure

A method to modulate the defect modes intensity in a multilayer photonic crystal with a nematic liquid crystal layer arranged midmost has been proposed. The various electrohydrodynamic domain structures (Williams domains, oblique rolls and grid pattern) were formed in the nematic layer under the action of ac electric field. The domains cause a polarization-sensitive light scattering which leads to an anisotropic reduction of the defect modes intensity. Thus by varying the applied voltage, we can tune gradually the transmittance spectrum of photonic crystal. In addition, the spectrum strongly depends on the light polarization direction above threshold voltage

Modulation of defect modes intensity by controlled light scattering in photonic crystal with liquid crystal domain structure

A method to modulate the defect modes intensity in a multilayer photonic crystal with a nematic liquid crystal layer arranged midmost has been proposed. The various electrohydrodynamic domain structures (Williams domains, oblique rolls and grid pattern) were formed in the nematic layer under the action of ac electric field. The domains cause a polarization-sensitive light scattering which leads to an anisotropic reduction of the defect modes intensity. Thus by varying the applied voltage, we can tune gradually the transmittance spectrum of photonic crystal. In addition, the spectrum strongly depends on the light polarization direction above threshold voltage