Electro-Optic Effects in Colloidal Dispersion of Metal Nano-Rods in Dielectric Fluid

Materials

Andrii B. Golovin¹  Jie Xiang¹  Heung-Shik Park¹  Luana Tortora¹  Yuriy A. Nastishin¹  Sergij V. Shiyanovskii¹ 

[1] Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA; E-Mails:

关键词: optical metamaterial;    dielectrophoretic effect;    gold nano-rods;    gradient of refractive index;    field induced birefringence;    optical cloak;    liquid crystal formed by metal particles;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma4020390

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In modern transformation optics, one explores metamaterials with properties that vary from point to point in space and time, suitable for application in devices such as an “optical invisibility cloak” and an “optical black hole”. We propose an approach to construct spatially varying and switchable metamaterials that are based on colloidal dispersions of metal nano-rods (NRs) in dielectric fluids, in which dielectrophoretic forces, originating in the electric field gradients, create spatially varying configurations of aligned NRs. The electric field controls orientation and concentration of NRs and thus modulates the optical properties of the medium. Using gold (Au) NRs dispersed in toluene, we demonstrate electrically induced change in refractive index on the order of 0.1.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.