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Xu H, Ding B, Xu Y, Huang Z, Wei D, Chen S, Lan T, Pan Y, Cheng HM, Liu B. Magnetically tunable and stable deep-ultraviolet birefringent optics using two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2022; 17:1091-1096. [PMID: 35953540 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-022-01186-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Birefringence is a fundamental optical property that can induce phase retardation of polarized light. Tuning the birefringence of liquid crystals is a core technology for light manipulation in current applications in the visible and infrared spectral regions. Due to the strong absorption or instability of conventional liquid crystals in deep-ultraviolet light, tunable birefringence remains elusive in this region, notwithstanding its significance in diverse applications. Here we show a stable and birefringence-tunable deep-ultraviolet modulator based on two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride. It has an extremely large optical anisotropy factor of 6.5 × 10-12 C2 J-1 m-1 that gives rise to a specific magneto-optical Cotton-Mouton coefficient of 8.0 × 106 T-2 m-1, which is about five orders of magnitude higher than other potential deep-ultraviolet-transparent media. The large coefficient, high stability (retention rate of 99.7% after 270 cycles) and wide bandgap of boron nitride collectively enable the fabrication of stable deep-ultraviolet modulators with magnetically tunable birefringence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Xu
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Baofu Ding
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China.
- Institute of Technology for Carbon Neutrality/Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Youan Xu
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
- Xi'an Research Institute of High Technology, Xi'an, China
| | - Ziyang Huang
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Dahai Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Superlattices and Microstructures, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shaohua Chen
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Tianshu Lan
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yikun Pan
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Hui-Ming Cheng
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China.
- Institute of Technology for Carbon Neutrality/Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
- Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China.
- Advanced Technology Institute, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
| | - Bilu Liu
- Shenzhen Geim Graphene Center, Tsinghua-Berkeley Shenzhen Institute & Institute of Materials Research, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, China.
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Multifunctionality by dispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in anisotropic matrices. PHYSICAL SCIENCES REVIEWS 2022. [DOI: 10.1515/psr-2019-0111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Interactions between magnetic nanoparticles and an anisotropic environment give rise to a variety of new magneto-optical, rheological and mechanical phenomena. This opens new avenues for developing novel multifunctional materials. In the course of this project, we investigated three types of anisotropic systems: dispersions of shape-anisotropic nanocrystals, magnetically doped molecular and colloidal liquid crystals, and organoferrogels. They were investigated by means of magneto-optical observations and by a magneto-mechanical torsion pendulum method.
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