Polarization-Independent Nematic Liquid Crystal Waveguides for Optofluidic Applications

Author

d´Alessandro, Antonio ; Martini, Luca ; Gilardi, Giovanni ; Beccherelli, Romeo ; Asquini, Rita

Author_Institution

Dept. of Inf. Eng., Electron. & Telecommun., Sapienza Univ. of Rome, Rome, Italy

Volume

27

Issue

16

fYear

2015

fDate

Aug.15, 15 2015

Firstpage

1709

Lastpage

1712

Abstract

We present the fabrication and the characterization of waveguides made of a nematic liquid crystal infiltrated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) channels. They are made by means of cast and molding technique and patterned using soft photolithography. The orientation of the nematic liquid crystal molecules induced by the poly(dimethylsiloxane) inner surfaces of the channels allows a polarization independent optical propagation. Optical transmission measurements showed an average of just 0.35 dB variation of light transmission versus input polarization orientation.

Keywords

casting; light polarisation; light propagation; micro-optomechanical devices; microfluidics; moulding; nematic liquid crystals; optical fabrication; optical polymers; optical waveguides; photolithography; soft lithography; casting; input polarization orientation; molding; optical propagation; optical transmission; optofluidic applications; polarization-independent nematic liquid crystal waveguides; poly(dimethylsiloxane) channels; soft photolithography; waveguide fabrication; Liquid crystals; Nonlinear optics; Optical device fabrication; Optical filters; Optical polarization; Optical waveguides; Liquid crystals; optical interconnections; optical waveguides; optofluidics;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LPT.2015.2438151

Filename

7114244