Universal Soft Matter Template: From Photonic to Metamaterial Applications

摘要

We report on the realization and characterization of a polymeric template sculptured in photosensitive material, on a chemical inert surface. The structure is devoted to microano-confinement and stabilization of a wide range of organic and nano-particle components with self-arrangement properties at the nanoscale [1]. High quality morphology of a polymeric, micro-patterned, array is obtained by combining a, nano-precision level, optical holographic setup and a multi-step chemico-physical process. The "universal" template represents the basic platform to be filled with different organic materials, which can also include metallic nano-particles. The long range self-organization is induced without making use of any kind of surface chemistry. Due to their capability of exhibiting self organization, light responsive Liquid Crystals (LC) [2] and short pitch Cholesterics LC [3] have been exploited, and experimental studies have been carried out in order to investigate the photo-optical and elecro-optical response of obtained composite structures for the realization of photonic devices. Finally, the possibility of including metallic nano-particles has been also investigated, with the aim of inducing a "metamaterial" behavior of the realized structure.