Project number: 2018/31/B/ST8/02832
Project value: PLN 1,406,000.00
Total funding: PLN 1,406,000.00,
including for PORT: PLN 688,800.00
Project implementation period: 08/07/2019 – 07/07/2022
Project leader: Dr. hab. Joanna Cybińska
Project implemented in a consortium:
1. Wrocław University of Science and Technology – Leader,
2. Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development
Traditional lasers emit photons of the same energy (color) and phase. White laser light has characteristics similar to conventional laser light; however, it is distinguished by the simultaneous emission of photons with energies corresponding to the colors red, green, and blue. The advantage of such a light source compared to conventional ones is the low beam divergence and high energy density, which may find applications in fluorescence microscopy or various types of illumination systems.
Liquid crystals belong to so-called soft matter, which exhibits long-range order, anisotropy of optical properties, and a richness of phases, including spatially modulated phases that readily respond to external fields. Nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals built from chiral structures can act as tunable, self-organizing optical materials exhibiting a one-dimensional photonic band gap, while so-called “blue phases” are examples of photonic crystals.
Due to these properties, liquid crystals offer exciting opportunities both in technical applications and in fundamental research. Since the density of photonic states is reduced within the band gap and increased near its edges, these materials, when doped with luminescent dyes, can be used as switchable filters, light modulators, or optical amplifiers, including laser action. In contrast, disordered liquid crystal structures may exhibit random lasing.
The aim of this project is the synthesis of new organic dyes and hybrid organic/inorganic systems, as well as the characterization of hybrid materials based on modified and/or dye-doped liquid crystals in order to achieve laser action under optical pumping with the possibility of simultaneous emission enabling the generation of white light. Another objective of the project is to describe light amplification mechanisms based on feedback from periodic structures or through constructive wave scattering on micro- and nano-objects (resonators) containing luminescent dye-doped liquid crystals.
