Abstract
With growing interest in switchable devices for the THz frequency range, there is a strong demand for liquid crystals (LC) exhibiting both a high birefringence and a low absorption. We present the refractive index and absorption coefficient of the liquid crystal mixtures 1852 and 1825 in the frequency range between 0.2 and 2.5 THz. Both mixtures are designed specifically for high birefringence Δn of 0.32 and 0.38, respectively, in the THz region. In addition, they show low absorption coefficients for both ordinary and extraordinary polarization. This low absorbance in combination with the high birefringence makes these LCs particularly well suited for applications in switchable devices for THz optics.
Highlights
Terahertz technology is developing at a rapid pace.[1,2,3] While a decade ago bulky and expensive components mainly constrained terahertz systems to equipped laboratories, new technical advances allow nowadays for applications in many different fields
A field which will most certainly have an impact on our daily life is short-range wireless communication with THz waves, i.e., the wireless local area network (LAN) of tomorrow.[7]
Many of the already developed and future devices use or will use the birefringence provided by liquid crystals (LC)
Summary
Terahertz technology is developing at a rapid pace.[1,2,3] While a decade ago bulky and expensive components mainly constrained terahertz systems to equipped laboratories, new technical advances allow nowadays for applications in many different fields. The THz properties of many of-the-shelf liquid crystals have been studied in the past few years.[11,12,13] Most of these standard LCs, only show a relatively low birefringence in the THz frequency range.
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