Title :
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
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;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LPT.2015.2438151
