Laser emission at the second-order photonic band gap in an electric-field-distorted cholesteric liquid crystal

ABSTRACT

We study the optical properties of a cholesteric liquid crystal doped with a fluorescent dye in the regime of highly distorted helix without full helix unwinding. The distortion was achieved by applying a pulsed AC electric field, perpendicular to the helix axis. If the pulse is in the millisecond range, the helix is deformed but keeps its original pitch even for electric fields higher than the theoretical critical field for helix unwinding. In this field regime, very pronounced high-order photonic band gaps are observed, in agreement with our calculations. We theoretically explore the possibility of obtaining viable laser emission at the second-order photonic band gap, and experimentally find that lasing is not only possible but has a figure of merit similar to that of the usual laser at the main-gap region. Therefore, electric-field-induced high-order photonic band gaps are potentially useful for multiline laser applications.

Graphical abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Cholesteric liquid crystals
• distributed feedback lasers
• photonic structures
• helix distortion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.