Spatial and electrical switching of defect modes in a photonic bandgap device with a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal defect layer

Abstract

This paper investigates the spectral properties of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) containing an inhomogeneous polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) as a defect layer. Experimental results indicate that the voltage-induced reorientation of LC molecules between the light-scattering and transparent states in the PDLC enables the electrical tuning of the transmittance of defect-mode peaks in the spectrum of the PC/PDLC cell. Specifically, owing to the unique configuration of the spatial distribution of LC droplet sizes in the defect layer, a concept concerning the spatial switching in the wavelength of defect modes is proposed. As a result, the PC/PDLC hybrid cell is suggested as a potential element for realizing an electrically tunable and spatially switchable photonic bandgap device, which is polarizer-free and requires no alignment layers in the fabrication process. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America