Work

Circularly Polarized Light Emission and Real-Image Projection from Cellulosic Converging Lenses with Adjustable Chiral Photonic Bandgaps

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The efficient generation of circularly polarized light (CPL) is crucial in information technologies such as optical communications and three-dimensional displays. In nature, many plants and animals can transform unpolarized light into CPL with chiral helical superstructures, which has inspired the development of CPL-related materials and devices. Herein, by combining the self-assembled chiral nematic liquid crystalline microstructures of cellulose nanocrystals with geometrical configurations of Fresnel lenses, free-standing solid-state cellulosic converging lenses with large sizes, circular polarization features, and adjustable chiral photonic bandgaps were fabricated at low cost, which could produce CPL beams exhibiting dissymmetry factors ( g = 2( I L – I R )/( I L + I R )) up to −0.61 ± 0.02 by focusing sunlight and generate real images of distant objects. These results may help guide the development of polarized light sources or imaging systems, and also suggest a simple method to construct multifunctional optical devices from photonic crystals.

Source: ACS Omega

DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.5c02442

Authors: Hongbo Zhao, Ling-Yan Xu, Xing-Yu Zhang, Renjun Pei, Pei-Xi Wang

Institutions: University of Science and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-bionics

Language: English

Topic: Photonic Crystals and Applications

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,935