3D Helix Engineering in Chiral Photonic Materials

Augustinus J.J. Kragt, Davey C. Hoekstra, Sjoerd Stallinga, Dirk J. Broer, Albertus P.H.J. Schenning*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

61 Citations (Scopus)
69 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Engineering the helical structure of chiral photonic materials in three dimensions remains a challenge. 3D helix engineered photonic materials are fabricated by local stratification in a photopolymerizable chiral nematic liquid crystal. The obtained chiral photonic materials reflect both handedness of circular polarized light and show super-reflectivity. Simulations match the experimentally observed photonic properties and reveal a distorted helical structure. 3D engineered polymer films can be made that reflect both left- and right handed circular and linear polarized light dependent and exhibit a changing color contrast upon altering the polarization of incident light. Hence, these 3D engineered photonic materials are of interest for new and emerging applications ranging from anti-counterfeit labels and data encryption to aesthetics and super-reflective films.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1903120
Number of pages7
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume31
Issue number33
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • 3D helical structures
  • chiral nematic liquid crystals
  • photonic structures
  • polymers
  • super-reflectivity

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