Abstract

This study investigates the all-optical directional control of emission in a cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC)-infiltrated photonic crystal fiber (PCF) laser. A laser dye-doped CLC (LD-CLC) and an azobenzene LC-doped CLC (ALC-CLC), which are selectively infiltrated into the hollow core and holey-matrix cladding of the PCF, function as an optically active cavity and an all-optical emission direction-controllable light valve, respectively, in the photonic LC fiber (PLCF) laser. Experimental results show that the PLCF has a low energy threshold (approximately 63 nJ/pulse) and a large circular polarization anisotropy (g ≅ 2) in lasing output. The lasing output from the LD-CLC-filled core of the PLCF can be all-optical controlled to emit omni- or semi-directionally or to off-emit by controlling the isothermal phase transition of the CLC between the scattering focal conic state and the transparent isotropic state by the all-optical-induced reversible photoisomerization of the doped ALCs in the cladding region. The emission direction-controllable PLCF laser has significant potential in various applications, such as bio-image, photo-therapy, wearable devices, displays, sensors, and lighting.

All-optically controllable dye-doped liquid crystal infiltrated photonic crystal fiber

Chia-Rong Lee, Jia-De Lin, Yan-Jhen Huang, Shih-Chan Huang, Shih-Hung Lin, and Chin-Ping Yu
Opt. Express 19(10) 9676-9689 (2011)

Photosensitive and all-optically fast-controllable photonic bandgap device and laser in a dye-doped blue phase with a low-concentration azobenzene liquid crystal

Jia-De Lin, Yu-Meng Lin, Ting-Shan Mo, and Chia-Rong Lee
Opt. Express 22(8) 9171-9181 (2014)

All-optically controllable distributed feedback laser in a dye-doped holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal grating with a photoisomerizable dye

Huai-Pei Tong, Yu-Ren Li, Jia-De Lin, and Chia-Rong Lee
Opt. Express 18(3) 2613-2620 (2010)

All-optically controllable random laser based on a dye-doped liquid crystal added with a photoisomerizable dye

Chia-Rong Lee, Jia-De Lin, Bo-Yuang Huang, Ting-Shan Mo, and Shuan-Yu Huang
Opt. Express 18(25) 25896-25905 (2010)

Effective medium analysis for optical control of laser tuning in a mixture of azo-nematics and cholesteric liquid crystal

Boyoung Kang, Hyunhee Choi, Mi-Yun Jeong, and J. W. Wu
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 27(2) 204-207 (2010)