Optical devices fabricated from porous thin films embedded with liquid crystals

Porous thin films with tailored chiral microstructure fabricated using glancing angle deposition (GLAD) have previously been shown to exhibit unique chiral optic response. Recently, the pores of chiral GLAD films were filled with liquid crystalline (LC) materials to produce a new class of hybrid materials which exhibit enhanced chiral optic response. We demonstrate here reversible electro-optic switching of the LC component in a cell structure composed of a chiral GLAD film embedded with a nematic LC. When the cell is addressed, the chiral optic response vanishes.