Spectral and polarization properties of a ‘cholesteric liquid crystal—phase plate—metal’ structure

Abstract

We investigate the localized surface modes in a structure consisting of the cholesteric liquid crystal layer, a phase plate, and a metal layer. These modes are analogous to the optical Tamm states. The nonreciprocal transmission of polarized light propagating in the forward and backward directions is established. It is demonstrated that the transmission spectrum can be controlled by external fields acting on the cholesteric liquid crystal and by varying the plane of polarization of the incident light.