Electromagnetic guided waves in composite liquid crystal-based interfaces

Abstract

We study an air–crown glass planar interface that includes a thin layer of a cholesteric liquid crystal doped with silver spheres of nanometer size. We propose a new theoretical model for the propagation of electromagnetic waves through the liquid crystal part and use the Marcuvitz–Schwinger form of the Maxwell equations to compute guided surface wave profiles. The results suggest the presence of anisotropic surface modes with negligible attenuation. The dependence of the surface wave parameters on the liquid crystal layer parameters can be used in liquid crystal-based sensors.