Light-induced switching in pDTE - FICO 1D photonic structures

TL;DR

This paper designs 1D photonic structures using FICO nanocrystals and pDTE polymer, demonstrating UV light-induced refractive index changes and plasmonic shifts for potential switchable optical devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel combination of FICO nanocrystals and pDTE polymer in 1D photonic structures for light-controlled switching applications.

Findings

UV irradiation induces a blue shift in FICO plasmonic resonances.

UV light changes the refractive index of pDTE polymer.

The structures enable switchable filters and light emission cavities.

Abstract

We propose the design of 1D photonic crystals and microcavities in which fluorine-indium codoped cadmium oxide (FICO) nanocrystal based layers and layers of diarylethene-based polyester (pDTE) are alternated or embedded in a microcavity. The irradiation with UV light results in two different behaviours: i) it dopes the FICO nanocrystals inducing a blue shift of their plasmonic resonances; ii) it changes the real part of the refractive index of the photochromic pDTE polymer. These two behaviours are combined in the proposed photonic structures and can be useful for switchable filters and cavities for light emission.