Optical switching of near infrared light transmission in metamaterial-liquid crystal cell structure

Opt Express. 2010 Aug 2;18(16):16492-8. doi: 10.1364/OE.18.016492.

Abstract

A metamaterial-liquid crystal cell structure is fabricated with the metamaterial as one of the liquid crystal alignment layers. Nano-sized double-split ring resonator in the metamaterial accommodates two distinct resonances in the near infrared regime. By adopting an azo-nematic liquid crystal in a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell structure, a photo-isomerization process is utilized to achieve an optical switching of light transmissions between two resonances. A single device of the metamaterial-liquid crystal cell structure has a potential application in the photonic switching in optical fiber telecommunications.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Computer Simulation*
  • Computer-Aided Design*
  • Equipment Design
  • Infrared Rays*
  • Liquid Crystals / chemistry*
  • Optics and Photonics
  • Scattering, Radiation*
  • Telecommunications / instrumentation*