Electro-optical properties of one-dimensional organic crystals

Abstract: The recent development of photonics and applications puts new challenges for systems using emission, transmission and modulation of light. For these reasons, novel optical materials attract a special interest for their enabling properties for novel technologies.In this work, we performed the research on fundamental properties and the possibility of implementation of electro-optical response of Poly-3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl (P3HT) nanofibers, which belong to the class of organic semiconductor crystalline materials. Our research demonstrated that an external electric field allows controlling the orientation of nanofibers dispersed in a solution by changing the electrical properties of P3HT crystals. This method was used to introduce a collective alignment of P3HT nanofibers and to impact the optical properties of the colloid. The spectroscopic and polarization measurements show that P3HT nanofibers possess optical anisotropy in a wide range of visible spectrum. This property combined with the ability to manipulate the orientation of nanofibers dynamically, was used for direct phase and intensity modulation of transmitted light. Along with these investigations, several engineering and technology tasks were solved. We have designed the transverse electro-optical cell using all-optical-fiber approach, as well as the longitudinal electro-optical cell was fabricated using a novel polymer molding technique.The obtained research results demonstrate the potential of P3HT crystalline nanofibers as a material class of large niche of applications, not only limited to photovoltaics but also being implemented in electro-optical systems to control light polarization and propagation.