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H.J. Coles, T.D. Wilkinson 11 Post-Doctoral Research Associates, 13 PhD Research Students Research at CMMPE Liquid crystal lasers CMMPE was officially opened in 2003 by Lord Sainsbury of Turville. It is an 'embedded' research centre in the Centre for Advanced Photonics and Electronics (CAPE). Based in the Electrical Engineering Division on the West Cambridge Site, it is one of three parallel photonics research groups. CMMPE combines research scientists from a number of different disciplines including organic chemistry, physics and engineering. This enables fundamental research to be carried out in the design and synthesis of organic materials for the next generation of photonic and electronic applications. Our research areas include: • Liquid crystal lasers • Liquid crystals for telecoms • 2D & 3D holographic projection • Optical pattern recognition • Liquid crystals for displays • Flexoelectro-optic effect • Electrical & optical characterisation of dielectrics Chiral nematic liquid crystals have been shown to display a photonic band-gap and a periodic structure. From this, new varieties of micromolecular organic lasers are being developed, with the following properties: - Micrometer dimensions - Tunable emission wavelength - Single mode - High output power - Large coherence area - Low threshold - Self-organising into periodic structures CMMPE is developing new LC laser structures, such as arrays of recombinable laser sources (above right), improving their performance, and using this technology to develop new applications. • Hybrid liquid crystal carbon nanotube devices • Adaptive optics for ophthalmic imaging • Non-linear optics Adaptive phase modulation devices CMMPE is developing new adaptive devices that CMMPE is developing new adaptive devices that dynamically manipulate of the phase of light, dynamically manipulate of the phase of light, often using liquid crystals. Examples and often using liquid crystals. Examples and applications of such devices include: applications of such devices include: - 2D & 3D computer generated holography - 2D & 3D computer generated holography Left - a computer generated hologram is used to (left - a computer generated hologram is used to display a video of a clock face. display a video of a clock face). - Adaptive optics for ophthalmic imaging - Adaptive optics for ophthalmic imaging - Optical pattern recognition (comparators) - Optical pattern recognition (comparators) Liquid crystals for displays Our research themes in the field of flat-panel liquid crystal displays encompass a range of different electro-optic effects that are suitable for applications including fast-switching, video frame-rate liquid crystal displays, and large area, low-power consumption, displays. The work programs can be categorised into the following headings: - Blue phases - Flexoelectro-optic effect - Ferroelectrics - Antiferroelectrics - Smectic A - PDLCs - Hybrid devices - Dye guest-host systems Hybridliquid liquid crystal carbon - -Hybrid carbon nanotube nanotube devices (rightdevices – a sparse array of vertically aligned nanotubes are grownaligned on a Right –carbon a sparse array of vertically substrate and used to electrically address a carbon nanotubes are grown on a substrate nematic liquid crystal, generating and used to electrically address aaGaussian nematic electric field, and a switchable optical device, liquid crystal, generating a Gaussian electric similar an adaptive microlens array).device, field, toand a switchable optical Above – (a) Chiral nematic structure, (b) deformation due to flexoelectro-optic and (c) dielectric coupling to an E field orthogonal to the helical axis. Left – Liquid crystal blue phases are selfassembled 3D cubic defect structures, with lattice periods of the order of the wavelength of visible light. similar to an adaptive microlens array. www-g.eng.cam.ac.uk/CMMPE