Variable wavelength selection devices: Physics and applications

Variable wavelength selection (VWS) achieved by implementing tunability to wavelength discriminating devices has generated great interest in basic science, applied physics, and technology. This thesis focuses on the underlying physics and application of several novel wavelength discriminating devices.; Holographical polymer dispersed liquid crystals (HPDLCs) are switchable volume gratings formed by exposing a photopolymerizable monomer and liquid crystal mixture to interfering monochromatic light beams. An HPDLCs wavelength discriminating ability along with its switchability, allow it to be utilized in VWS devices.; A novel mode HPDLC, total internal reflection (TIR) HPDLC, has been developed as a wavelength selective filter. The grating planes in this device are tilted so that the diffracted light experiences total internal reflection at the glass-air interface and is trapped in the cell until it eventually escapes from an edge. A VWS device is demonstrated by stacking TIR HPDLCs operating at different wavelengths.; Converging or diverging recording beams are employed to fabricate chirped reflection HPDLCs with a pitch gradient along the designated direction, creating chirped switchable reflection gratings (CSRGs). A pixelated version of the CSRG is developed herein, and a dynamic spectral equalizer is presented by combining the pixelated CSRG with a prism (for wavelength discrimination).; A switchable circular to point converter (SCPC), which enables the random selection of the wavelength bands divided by the Fabry-Perot interferometer utilizing the controllable beam steering capability of transmission HPDLCs, is demonstrated. A random optical cross-switch (TIROL) can be created by integrating a Fabry-Perot interferometer with a stack of SCPC units.; The in-plane electric field generated by the interdigitated electrodes is utilized to elongate the helical pitch of a cholesteric liquid crystal and thereby induces a red shift of the transmission reflection peak (transmission notch). A modified de Genne theory which shows the stepwise nature of the cholesteric pitch unwinding between substrates is proposed.; Furthermore, techniques are developed for fabricating novel organic and carbon films, in which liquid crystal surface anchoring and flow are exploited to precisely control either molecular structure (in organic films) or crystal structure (in carbon films).