Direct birefringence and transmission modulation via dynamic alignment of P3HT nanofibers in an advanced opto-fluidic componentShow others and affiliations
2017 (English)In: Optical Materials Express, E-ISSN 2159-3930, Vol. 7, no 1, p. 52-61Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) nanofibers are semiconducting high-aspect ratio nanostructures with anisotropic absorption and birefringence properties found at different regions of the optical spectrum. In addition, P3HT nanofibers possess an ability to be aligned by an external electric field, while being dispersed in a liquid. In this manuscript we show that such collective ordering of nanofibers, similar to liquid crystal material, significantly changes the properties of transmitted light. With a specially fabricated opto-fluidic component, we monitored the phase and transmission modulation of light propagating through the solution of P3HT nanofibers, being placed in the electric field with strength up to 0.1 V/μm. This report describes a technique for light modulation, which can be implemented in optical fiber-based devices or on-chip integrated components.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2017. Vol. 7, no 1, p. 52-61
Keywords [en]
Absorption spectroscopy, Aspect ratio, Birefringence, Electric fields, Light modulation, Liquid crystals, Modulation, Nanofibers, Optical fiber fabrication, Optical fibers, Anisotropic absorption, Birefringence property, External electric field, Fiber-based device, High aspect ratio nano-structures, Liquid crystal materials, Poly-3-hexylthiophene, Transmission modulation, Light transmission
National Category
Physical Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-29201DOI: 10.1364/OME.7.000052Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85008157720OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-29201DiVA, id: diva2:1086493
Note
Export Date: 3 April 2017; Article
2017-04-032017-04-032024-09-04Bibliographically approved