Self-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surface

The development of tunable photonic devices is strategic for miniaturized optical instrumentation and sensing systems. Exploiting the birefringence variation of liquid crystals (LCs) instead of MEMS actuation in such devices could bring better spectral stability and lower power consumption. However,...

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Main Authors: Hugo Villanti, Sébastien Plissard, Jean-Baptiste Doucet, Alexandre Arnoult, Benjamin Reig, Laurent Dupont, Véronique Bardinal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:Applied Physics Express
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.35848/1882-0786/adb3eb
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author Hugo Villanti
Sébastien Plissard
Jean-Baptiste Doucet
Alexandre Arnoult
Benjamin Reig
Laurent Dupont
Véronique Bardinal
author_facet Hugo Villanti
Sébastien Plissard
Jean-Baptiste Doucet
Alexandre Arnoult
Benjamin Reig
Laurent Dupont
Véronique Bardinal
author_sort Hugo Villanti
collection DOAJ
description The development of tunable photonic devices is strategic for miniaturized optical instrumentation and sensing systems. Exploiting the birefringence variation of liquid crystals (LCs) instead of MEMS actuation in such devices could bring better spectral stability and lower power consumption. However, aligning LCs inside a III–V semiconductor device is tricky. We demonstrate that self-assembled gallium arsenide (GaAs) quantum dashes (QDHs) could serve as direct planar aligners for LC nematic molecules. The alignment quality and birefringence variation of a LC-microcell embedding QDHs are shown to be similar to those of a polymer nanograting-based reference, with the added advantage of better electrical performance.
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publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
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series Applied Physics Express
spelling doaj-art-b6a044bd2f8c4ea298ce48d56d56dda52025-08-20T02:45:41ZengIOP PublishingApplied Physics Express1882-07862025-01-0118202700110.35848/1882-0786/adb3ebSelf-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surfaceHugo Villanti0Sébastien Plissard1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0769-5429Jean-Baptiste Doucet2Alexandre Arnoult3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8240-8269Benjamin Reig4Laurent Dupont5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1355-7871Véronique Bardinal6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9242-4457LAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse , CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, FranceLAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse , CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, FranceLAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse , CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, FranceLAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse , CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, FranceLAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse , CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, FranceOptics department , IMT Atlantique Technopôle Brest-Iroise CS 83818 29238 Brest cedex 03, FranceLAAS-CNRS, Université de Toulouse , CNRS, 7 Avenue du Colonel Roche, 31400 Toulouse, FranceThe development of tunable photonic devices is strategic for miniaturized optical instrumentation and sensing systems. Exploiting the birefringence variation of liquid crystals (LCs) instead of MEMS actuation in such devices could bring better spectral stability and lower power consumption. However, aligning LCs inside a III–V semiconductor device is tricky. We demonstrate that self-assembled gallium arsenide (GaAs) quantum dashes (QDHs) could serve as direct planar aligners for LC nematic molecules. The alignment quality and birefringence variation of a LC-microcell embedding QDHs are shown to be similar to those of a polymer nanograting-based reference, with the added advantage of better electrical performance.https://doi.org/10.35848/1882-0786/adb3ebIII–V semiconductorsliquid crystal alignmentanisotropyquantum dashesdroplet epitaxyliquid crystal microcell
spellingShingle Hugo Villanti
Sébastien Plissard
Jean-Baptiste Doucet
Alexandre Arnoult
Benjamin Reig
Laurent Dupont
Véronique Bardinal
Self-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surface
Applied Physics Express
III–V semiconductors
liquid crystal alignment
anisotropy
quantum dashes
droplet epitaxy
liquid crystal microcell
title Self-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surface
title_full Self-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surface
title_fullStr Self-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surface
title_full_unstemmed Self-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surface
title_short Self-assembled GaAs quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a III–V semiconductor surface
title_sort self assembled gaas quantum dashes for direct alignment of liquid crystals on a iii v semiconductor surface
topic III–V semiconductors
liquid crystal alignment
anisotropy
quantum dashes
droplet epitaxy
liquid crystal microcell
url https://doi.org/10.35848/1882-0786/adb3eb
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