Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
Sci Rep. 2017 Feb 23;7:42955. doi: 10.1038/srep42955.
High-performance and cost-effective laser protection system is of crucial importance for the rapid advance of lasers in military and civilian fields leading to severe damages of human eyes and sensitive optical devices. However, it is crucially hindered by the angle-dependent protective effect and the complex preparation process. Here we demonstrate that angle-independence, good processibility, wavelength tunability, high optical density and good visibility can be effectuated simultaneously, by embedding dichroic anthraquinone dyes in a cholesteric liquid crystal matrix. More significantly, unconventional two-dimensional parabolic protection behavior is reported for the first time that in stark contrast to the existing protection systems, the overall parabolic protection behavior enables protective effect to increase with incident angles, hence providing omnibearing high-performance protection. The protective effect is controllable by dye concentration, LC cell thickness and CLC reflection efficiency, and the system can be made flexible enabling applications in flexible and even wearable protection devices. This research creates a promising avenue for the high-performance and cost-effective laser protection, and may foster the development of optical applications such as solar concentrators, car explosion-proof membrane, smart windows and polarizers.
高性能、低成本的激光防护系统对于激光在军事和民用领域的快速发展至关重要，因为激光会严重损害人眼和敏感的光学设备。然而，它受到角度相关的保护效果和复杂的制备工艺的严重阻碍。在这里，我们通过将二向色性蒽醌染料嵌入胆甾相液晶基质中，证明了角度无关性、良好的加工性、波长可调谐性、高光密度和良好的可见性可以同时实现。更重要的是，首次报道了非传统的二维抛物线保护行为，与现有保护系统形成鲜明对比的是，整体抛物线保护行为使保护效果随入射角的增加而增加，从而提供全方位的高性能保护。保护效果可以通过染料浓度、LC 单元厚度和 CLC 反射效率来控制，并且该系统可以具有柔韧性，从而可以应用于柔性甚至可穿戴的防护设备中。这项研究为高性能、低成本的激光防护开辟了一条有前途的途径，并可能促进太阳能聚光器、汽车防爆膜、智能窗户和偏光器等光学应用的发展。
