Gomez-Lavocat-PhD_thesis2014_Active_photonic_devices_based_on_liquid_crystal_elastomers.pdf (16.86 MB)
ACTIVE PHOTONIC DEVICES BASED ON LIQUID CRYSTAL ELASTOMERS
Through this thesis I try to give a glimpse of the potential applications a rigorous fabrication of Liquid Crystal Elastomers (LCE) could lead to. Producing structures made of LCE with sub micro-metric resolution and containing azobenzene molecules could open the way to 4D nano-printing. A buzzword that however hides a dormant breakthrough if the community manages to understand how to couple efficiently the chemistry and the physics behind this material.
After a theoretical presentation of the elastomer (chapter 2) some basic properties involving light interaction have been modeled and explained (chapter 3). Most of the content is then dedicated to the description of two specific fabrication techniques which are illustrated by two different applications. The first one is a micro swimmer whose
appendages could be made of LCE by Direct Laser Writing and remotely activated by light (chapters 4 and 5). The second one is a plasmonic grating embedded via nanotransfer printing into a LCE layer (chapters 6).
After a theoretical presentation of the elastomer (chapter 2) some basic properties involving light interaction have been modeled and explained (chapter 3). Most of the content is then dedicated to the description of two specific fabrication techniques which are illustrated by two different applications. The first one is a micro swimmer whose
appendages could be made of LCE by Direct Laser Writing and remotely activated by light (chapters 4 and 5). The second one is a plasmonic grating embedded via nanotransfer printing into a LCE layer (chapters 6).
