Abstract:

We report the fabrication of three-dimensional lattices of bipolar nematic liquid crystal droplets. The electro-optic properties of these materials consist of transitions between opaque, Bragg diffracting, and transparent states. These occur continuously at moderate electric (E) fields through bipolar axis rotation of the nematic droplets. An E field applied normal to the hexagonally close packed planes results in a Bragg diffraction pattern that is polarization independent. Application of in-plane fields allows switching between diffracting and transmitting states that depends on the polarization of the incident light.

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