Metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) for biosensors: General approaches and a review of recent developments

The ability to control light direction with tailored precision via facile means is long-desired in science and industry. With the advances in optics, a periodic structure called diffraction grating gains prominence and renders a more flexible control over light propagation when compared to prisms. Today, diffraction gratings are common components in wavelength division multiplexing devices, monochromators, lasers, spectrometers, media storage, beam steering, and many other applications. Next-generation optical devices, however, demand nonmechanical, full and remote control, besides generating higher than 1D diffraction patterns with as few optical elements as possible. Liquid crystals (LCs) are great candidates for light control since they can form various patterns under different stimuli, including periodic structures capable of behaving as diffraction gratings. The characteristics of such gratings depend on several physical properties of the LCs such as film thickness, periodicity, and molecular orientation, all resulting from the internal constraints of the sample, and all of these are easily controllable. In this review, the authors summarize the research and development on stimuli-controllable diffraction gratings and beam steering using LCs as the active optical materials. Dynamic gratings fabricated by applying external field forces or surface treatments and made of chiral and nonchiral LCs with and without polymer networks are described. LC gratings capable of switching under external stimuli such as light, electric and magnetic fields, heat, and chemical composition are discussed. The focus is on the materials, designs, applications, and future prospects of diffraction gratings using LC materials as active layers.

Dynamic Control of Light Direction Enabled by Stimuli-Responsive Liquid Crystal Gratings.

Organic Semiconductor Lasers

The research field of liquid crystals and their applications is recently changing from being largely focused on display applications and optical shutter elements in various fields, to quite novel and diverse applications in the area of nanotechnology and nanoscience. Functional nanoparticles have recently been used to a significant extent to modify the physical properties of liquid crystals by the addition of ferroelectric and magnetic particles of different shapes, such as arbitrary and spherical, rods, wires and discs. Also, particles influencing optical properties are increasingly popular, such as quantum dots, plasmonic, semiconductors and metamaterials. The self-organization of liquid crystals is exploited to order templates and orient nanoparticles. Similarly, nanoparticles such as rods, nanotubes and graphene oxide are shown to form lyotropic liquid crystal phases in the presence of isotropic host solvents. These effects lead to a wealth of novel applications, many of which will be reviewed in this publication.

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/9/12/2512/pdf

Perspectives in Liquid-Crystal-Aided Nanotechnology and Nanoscience

Polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) have kindled a spark of interest because of their unique characteristic of electrically controlled switching. However, some issues including high operating voltage, low contrast ratio and poor mechanical properties are hindering their practical applications. To overcome these drawbacks, some measures were taken such as molecular structure optimization of the monomers and liquid crystals, modification of PDLC and doping of nanoparticles and dyes. This review aims at detailing the recent advances in the process, preparations and applications of PDLCs over the past six years.

Recent Advances in The Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Composite and Its Applications.

Distance-dependent metal enhanced fluorescence by flowerlike silver nanostructures fabricated in liquid crystalline phase

A series of 4ʹ-(4-alkyl-phenyl)-2ʹ,6ʹ-difluorotolane isothiocyanate liquid crystal (LC) compounds were synthesised, and their phase transitions and electrooptical properties were investigated. These compounds exhibit high birefringence, about 0.47–0.52. As the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl chains increases, these LC compounds can exhibit smectic phases. When these LCs were mixed into the commercial LCs, the birefringence values of LC mixtures become higher than pure commercial LCs, and the visco-elastic coefficients of five LC mixtures are very close to each other at every test temperature. The results of response properties indicate that the compounds with a tri-fluorine substitution and n-propyl end group possess better response performance than the others. These LC compounds are particularly attractive for achieving fast response times in LC optic devices.

Electrooptical properties of new type fluorinated phenyl-tolane isothiocyanate liquid crystal compounds

Enhanced birefringence for metallic nanoparticle doped liquid crystals

We propose a simple implementation to obtain super-broadband geometric phase devices (GPD) by means of circular polarization converter (CPC) with mirror symmetry. We demonstrate that the best choice of wideband GPDs and CPCs is a mirror symmetric structure. Based on a two-rotation model on the Poincare sphere, optimization parameters and time are significantly reduced. The CPC can be extended to super-broadband GPD, such as polarization gratings (PGs), by using geometric phase holography. We simulate diffraction efficiencies of the super-broadband PGs. In the normal incident case, the diffraction efficiency is over 99% in 420–945 nm, and in the oblique incident case, the first-order diffraction efficiency is over 90% in the range of ±30°. The super-broadband GPDs show potential advantages in wide color display and spectral imaging.

/pdf/super-broadband-geometric-phase-devices-based-on-circular-5dxy44whit.pdf

Super-broadband geometric phase devices based on circular polarization converter with mirror symmetry

Recently, diverse twisting structures have been discovered to be a potential approach to design liquid crystal polarization gratings and lenses (LCPGs and LCPLs) with a high diffraction efficiency, broad bandwidth, wide view, and large diffraction angle. In this review, we divide these twisting structures into two main types, namely, multi-layer twisting structures with phase compensation and twisting structures forming Bragg diffraction. We found that multi-layer twisting structure LCPGs and LCPLs presented a broader bandwidth and a wider view angle by phase compensation. While for transmissive or reflective Bragg LCPGs, a large diffraction angle with high diffraction efficiency could be achieved. Based on the theoretical analysis in the review, potential research directions on novel twisting structures were prospected.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4352/11/3/243/pdf

Wang Qidong

Papers

Distance-dependent metal enhanced fluorescence by flowerlike silver nanostructures fabricated in liquid crystalline phase

Electrooptical properties of new type fluorinated phenyl-tolane isothiocyanate liquid crystal compounds

Enhanced birefringence for metallic nanoparticle doped liquid crystals

Super-broadband geometric phase devices based on circular polarization converter with mirror symmetry

Twisting Structures in Liquid Crystal Polarization Gratings and Lenses