Dynamic and versatile controllability of chiral nematic photonic devices with sunlight-activatable chiral molecular motors

Multidimensional manipulation of light properties such as wavelength, polarization, spin and orbital angular momenta plays an important role in expanding the information capacity of photon-based communications. Among recently proposed ideas, stimulus-responsive self-organizing helical superstructures offer a promising avenue for development of future chiro-optics-based photonic devices. This study explores a photolithographic-like photoalignment system to fabricate spatially-micropatterned cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) formed by chiral molecular motors (CMM). The geometric phase provides an integrated strategy for laser beam shaping. Several specific chiro-optical elements with different geometric phase patterns. Additionally, by finely controlling the dynamic balance between the concentrations of CMM molecules with opposite handedness in the CLC devices with different optical functions, the spectral position and handedness of the photonic bandgap can be continuously, bidirectionally, and reversibly tuned in the ultra-broadband spectral region. This work demonstrates a promising approach to replace conventional photonic devices that are bulky and only serve static functions.