Twist defect in chiral photonic structures with spatially varying pitch

Abstract

The properties of photonic defect modes in a chiral photonic structure were investigated using the finite element method. By stacking two cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLC) films, the defect mode due to the introduction of a twist defect was considered in both cases of chiral structures with constant pitch and spatially varying pitch. Two types of linear pitch gradients for achieving a broadband reflection were analysed, and the number of chiral pitches required for establishing the stop band was simulated. The effect of a finite sample thickness on the energy density distribution of the defect mode and on the required polarization of the incident light to excite the defect mode was studied. In both cases of constant pitch and spatially varying pitch, an unusual crossover behaviour in reflection at the defect resonance wavelength of a single circularly polarized mode appears when the structure thickness increases beyond a specific value. The energy distribution inside the sample also reveals the unusual distribution. Two different resonance wavelengths can be created by a twist defect in the ChLC composite film with linearly varying pitch, while only one resonance wavelength can be created in the identical film with constant pitch.