Chen Ching-Hsiang, Lee Chun-Hong, Lin Tsung-Hsien
Department of Photonics, National Sun Yat Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Appl Opt. 2010 Sep 10;49(26):4846-50. doi: 10.1364/AO.49.004846.
We present a loss-reduced photonic liquid-crystal fiber (PLCF) using the noncontact photoalignment method. The photoexcited and adsorbed azo dye on the capillary surface of a PLCF induces uniform and highly ordered orientation of the liquid crystal (LC). The anchoring force of the photoalignment effect is combined with that generated by surface boundary conditions of the photonic crystal fiber (PCF). Transmission loss resulting from LC scattering can be reduced from -2.8 to -1.3 db/cm within 10 min. This photoinduced alignment yields a permanent boundary for the LC in the PCF that reduces scattering loss and can be further modulated by electrical fields. The electrical tunable effect and fast dynamic response of the photoaligned PLCF are also presented. This low-loss PLCF can be applied conveniently in various PLCF devices.
我们展示了一种使用非接触式光取向方法的低损耗光子液晶光纤（PLCF）。光激发并吸附在PLCF毛细管表面的偶氮染料会诱导液晶（LC）产生均匀且高度有序的取向。光取向效应的锚定力与光子晶体光纤（PCF）表面边界条件所产生的力相结合。由LC散射导致的传输损耗可在10分钟内从-2.8降低至-1.3 dB/cm。这种光致取向为PCF中的LC产生了一个永久性边界，从而降低了散射损耗，并且可以通过电场进一步调制。还展示了光取向PLCF的电可调谐效应和快速动态响应。这种低损耗PLCF可方便地应用于各种PLCF器件中。
