No abstract

We propose a mechanical-hydrodynamical experimental setup in which the microfluidic motion manipulates the optical birefringence of levitated graphene oxide liquid crystal. The birefringence of the sample is changed by flowing graphene oxide liquid crystal in the micro-channel. By measuring the ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices at five flow rates, one can determine the value of the birefringence of the samples, precisely. Our results demonstrate that, by adjusting the concentration and flow rate of dispersion of the graphene oxide nano flakes, the induced birefringence can be controlled. It is also shown that this approach can be used as an optical switch.

Manipulation of the nonlinear optical response of materials plays a significant role in photonics applications; however, it may be irreversible, untunable, and uncontrollable, which makes it difficult. In this Letter, we present a mechanical-hydrodynamical approach through a microchannel to tune the nonlinear absorption response of graphene oxide liquid crystals. In this material, the optical properties depend on the flake orientation. This feature has helped us to study empirically the dependency of the nonlinear absorption coefficients to external hydrodynamical force by employing the Z-scan technique. The experimental results show that increasing the flow rate in the microchannel enhances both linear and nonlinear absorption coefficients and, as a result, reduces the laser beam transmission through the sample. It has been observed that the percentage change in the nonlinear absorption coefficient of the sample is significant due to the flow rate.