Ma Ling-Ling, Li Chao-Yi, Pan Jin-Tao, Ji Yue-E, Jiang Chang, Zheng Ren, Wang Ze-Yu, Wang Yu, Li Bing-Xiang, Lu Yan-Qing
National Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, Key Laboratory of Intelligent Optical Sensing and Manipulation, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
College of Electronic and Optical Engineering & College of Flexible Electronics (Future Technology), Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Light Sci Appl. 2022 Sep 13;11(1):270. doi: 10.1038/s41377-022-00930-5.
Self-assembled architectures of soft matter have fascinated scientists for centuries due to their unique physical properties originated from controllable orientational and/or positional orders, and diverse optic and photonic applications. If one could know how to design, fabricate, and manipulate these optical microstructures in soft matter systems, such as liquid crystals (LCs), that would open new opportunities in both scientific research and practical applications, such as the interaction between light and soft matter, the intrinsic assembly of the topological patterns, and the multidimensional control of the light (polarization, phase, spatial distribution, propagation direction). Here, we summarize recent progresses in self-assembled optical architectures in typical thermotropic LCs and bio-based lyotropic LCs. After briefly introducing the basic definitions and properties of the materials, we present the manipulation schemes of various LC microstructures, especially the topological and topographic configurations. This work further illustrates external-stimuli-enabled dynamic controllability of self-assembled optical structures of these soft materials, and demonstrates several emerging applications. Lastly, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of these materials towards soft matter photonics, and envision future perspectives in this field.
几个世纪以来，软物质的自组装结构因其源于可控取向和/或位置有序性的独特物理性质以及多样的光学和光子学应用而吸引着科学家们。如果人们能够知道如何在软物质系统（如液晶（LC））中设计、制造和操纵这些光学微结构，那么这将为科学研究和实际应用带来新的机遇，比如光与软物质之间的相互作用、拓扑图案的固有组装以及光的多维控制（偏振、相位、空间分布、传播方向）。在此，我们总结了典型热致液晶和生物基溶致液晶中自组装光学结构的最新进展。在简要介绍了材料的基本定义和性质之后，我们展示了各种液晶微结构的操纵方案，特别是拓扑和地形构型。这项工作进一步说明了这些软材料的自组装光学结构在外部刺激下的动态可控性，并展示了一些新兴应用。最后，我们讨论了这些材料在软物质光子学方面面临的挑战和机遇，并展望了该领域的未来前景。
