Stability of liquid crystal micro-droplets based optical microresonators

ABSTRACT

Liquid crystal (LC) based tuneable optical microresonators are potential for being used as crucial components in photonic devices. In this article, we report experimental studies on LC micro-droplets dispersed in several dispersing media. We find that the size of the micro-droplets formed in a low refractive index and optically transparent perfluoropolymer are most stable with time than commonly used dispersing media. Using a negative dielectric anisotropy nematic liquid crystal, we show that the whispering gallery mode optical resonance properties such as the quality factor and the free spectral range of stable micro-droplets are independent of the strength of the applied electric field. The optical resonance properties under applied field are significantly different than that of the liquid crystals with positive dielectric anisotropy and are explained based on the elastic deformation of the micro-droplets.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Liquid crystal micro-droplets
• optical resonance

Acknowledgments

J.A.S acknowledges UGC for BSR fellowship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

We gratefully acknowledge the support from SERB [EMR/2015/001566] and DST [DST/SJF/PSA-02/2014-2015].