SFB 986: Subproject C10 - Photonic Metamaterials with Adjustable and Switchable Anisotropy by Functionalization of Porous Solids with Liquid Crystals

In this project, liquid crystals are to be combined with the self-organized nanoporosity in solids of silicon, quartz glass and anodically oxidized aluminum (AA0) to design optical materials with adjustable and switchable linear and circular birefringence. Thermotropic chiral and achiral systems of rod and disc-shaped molecules are investigated as liquid crystalline systems. On the one hand, the fundamental understanding of the self-assembly of these mesogens in porous media will be expanded. On the other hand, it will be investigated from a materials science point of view how porosity on the meso- and macroscale in solids can be combined with soft matter to produce mechanically robust 3-D photonic metamaterials.

Options