Issue 87, 2016

Electrically active nanoantenna array enabled by varying the molecular orientation of an interfaced liquid crystal

Abstract

A system comprising a gold nanoantenna array covered with a high-birefringence liquid crystal (LC) material is introduced. By applying voltage across the LC bulk, we demonstrate that the refractive-index and polarization changes significantly modify the hybrid plasmonic–photonic resonances in the system. The hybrid structure enables the active control of the spectrum as well as a large shift in resonance wavelength of the metallic nanoantennas by means of an externally applied electric field. Our modeling supports the observed results, by assuming that the nanoantenna array leads to two orthogonal easy axes with a finite anchoring energy. In combination of the nanostructured surface with birefringent LC, tunability up to 90 nm is achieved in the visible wavelengths, opening the door towards nanoscale displays or nano-optical switches.

Graphical abstract: Electrically active nanoantenna array enabled by varying the molecular orientation of an interfaced liquid crystal

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
03 May 2016
Accepted
30 Aug 2016
First published
06 Sep 2016

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 84500-84504

Author version available

Electrically active nanoantenna array enabled by varying the molecular orientation of an interfaced liquid crystal

Y. Hsiao, C. Su, Z. Yang, Y. I. Cheypesh, J. Yang, V. Yu. Reshetnyak, K. Chen and W. Lee, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 84500 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA11428H

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