CONDENSED MATTER

Photonics of two-dimensional structures formed by cholesteric liquid crystals

P. V. Dolganov^ab, K. D. Baklanova^ba, V. K. Dolganov^a, E. I. Kats<sup>c

a</sup> Osipyan Institute of Solid State Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142432 Chernogolovka, Russia
^b National Research University Higher School of Economics, 101000 Moscow, Russia
^c Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 142432 Chernogolovka, Russia

Abstract: Chiral liquid crystal materials can self-organize into modulated structures with multilevel arrangement formed by curved cholesteric helixes and spatially ordered defects. We managed to prepare periodic two-dimensional cholesteric domains with remarkable structure and photonic properties. They are formed due to geometrical frustration. Complex optical patterns with non-trivial dependence of the images on light polarization and on observation geometry were found and investigated in transmission and reflection. The obtained photonic structures of two-dimensional ordered confocal domains and their optical properties are a challenge both for theory and experiment.

Received: 10.10.2024
Revised: 10.10.2024
Accepted: 13.10.2024

Language: English

DOI: 10.31857/S0370274X24110226

 English version: Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics Letters, 2024, 120:10, 772–778