Optical properties and photonic density of states in one-dimensional and three-dimensional liquid-crystalline photonic crystals

ABSTRACT

Complex optical investigations were performed in one-dimensional (cholesteric) and three-dimensional (Blue Phase II) liquid-crystalline photonic crystals. Spectra of optical transmission and luminescence in the range of the photonic stop band contain information about the local anisotropy, characteristics of the photonic stop band, photonic density of states. We determine the photonic density of states in one-dimensional and three-dimensional liquid-crystalline photonic crystals employing measurements of polarised luminescence. The width of the photonic band gap, density of states and the optical characteristics related to the density of states essentially change with temperature in one-dimensional cholesteric photonic crystal. Drastic transformation of the density of states was found at the transition from one-dimensional to three-dimensional (Blue Phase II) photonic crystal. The results of our investigations demonstrate the possibility to employ the applied method for various types of photonic structures.

Graphical abstract

KEYWORDS:

• Cholesteric
• blue phases
• photonic density of states
• luminescence
• orientational order parameter

Acknowledgments

The authors thank B.M. Bolotin for providing the luminescent dye DEANS.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research Grant No. [17-02-00246].