Issue 36, 2017

Reconfigurable photonic crystals with optical bistability enabled by “cold” programming and thermo-recoverable shape memory polymers

Abstract

Recently, reconfigurable photonic crystals that can reversibly change and recover their optical properties (e.g. photonic stopbands) in response to external stimuli have aroused much attention. However, developing a photonic crystal with a dynamically tunable nanostructure that can memorize and maintain different nanostructures and related optical properties is still a challenge. Based on capillary pressure-induced “cold” programming and heat-triggered recoverable shape memory polymers, reconfigurable 3D photonic crystal membranes with optical bistability, which show two reversibly tunable stable equilibrium states, are reported in this work. During shape memory programming and recovery processes, capillary pressure created by water evaporation induces “cold” programming of photonic crystal membranes with a disordered temporary state without diffractive peaks at room temperature. The permanent ordered photonic crystal nanostructures with apparent characteristic diffraction peaks can be recovered by heating. The reversible transition of photonic crystals between an ordered permanent state and a disordered temporary state during the cyclical programming and recovery results in a tremendous change in appearance and a large and stable shift of diffraction peaks different from conventionally tunable photonic crystals. This disorder-to-order transition and the tremendous shift of photonic bandgaps enable the photonic crystals to serve as a sensitive optical tool to the probe shape memory effect at the nanoscale. Importantly, a large difference in optical transmittances is shown as no stopband exists in the disordered temporary state, which provides a unique alternative in developing photonic crystal photoswitches with higher contrast and optical switching effect, as well as rewritable photonic devices and displays etc.

Graphical abstract: Reconfigurable photonic crystals with optical bistability enabled by “cold” programming and thermo-recoverable shape memory polymers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
26 Dec 2016
Accepted
11 Apr 2017
First published
24 Apr 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 22461-22467

Reconfigurable photonic crystals with optical bistability enabled by “cold” programming and thermo-recoverable shape memory polymers

W. Niu, L. Qu, R. Lyv and S. Zhang, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 22461 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA28682H

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