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Electrically tunable diffraction of light from 2D nematic colloidal crystals

We show that diffraction of visible light from 2D dipolar nematic colloidal crystals can be tuned electrically. When the external electric field of ∼ 1V/μm is applied in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the 2D colloidal crystal, the induced strain is highly anisotropic, and the inter-colloi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European physical journal. E, Soft matter and biological physics Soft matter and biological physics, 2008-09, Vol.27 (1), p.73-79, Article 73
Main Authors: Humar, M., Škarabot, M., Ravnik, M., Žumer, S., Poberaj, I., Babič, D., Muševič, I.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We show that diffraction of visible light from 2D dipolar nematic colloidal crystals can be tuned electrically. When the external electric field of ∼ 1V/μm is applied in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the 2D colloidal crystal, the induced strain is highly anisotropic, and the inter-colloidal spacing changes by as much as 20% along one direction and ∼ 2% along the perpendicular one. Although the speed of response is in the range of several seconds, this novel mechanism could provide interesting photonic applications.
ISSN:1292-8941
1292-895X
DOI:10.1140/epje/i2008-10353-0