Electric Field Tuning of the Stop Band in a Liquid-Crystal-Infiltrated Polymer Inverse Opal

Abstract

A polymer inverse opal with a tunable bandgap is presented. It is shown that, when the opal is infiltrated with a nematic liquid crystal, tuning of the stop band upon the application of an electric field is possible (see Figure for an SEM image of the structure). A discontinuous transition of the λLC shift upon a change in the voltage is observed.