Photonic Metamaterials with Adjustable and Switchable Anisotropy by Functionalization of Porous Solids with Liquid Crystals (C10*)

• Subject Area: Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials
• Term: from 2021 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 192346071

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.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 986: Tailor-Made Multi-Scale Materials Systems - M3
• Applicant Institution: Technische Universität Hamburg
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Patrick Huber