Microfluidic Hetero‐Integration of Bichiral Blue Phase Liquid Crystals for Programmable Photonics

ABSTRACT Blue‐phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) are promising soft photonic materials, yet their integration into functional devices is hindered by the reliance on rigid cells and the lack of methods for spatially programming their chirality and emission at the microscale. In this study, a microfluidic hetero‑integration strategy is developed to create uniform microcavities with precise bichiral (left‑handed and right‑handed) and dual‐color control. Through systematic optimization of wettability, cooling rate, and confinement dimensions, we elucidate the assembly mechanism and achieve deterministic fabrication of mono‐domain optical microcavities with quality factors up to ∼10 4 . The integrated architectures generate programmable dual‐color circularly polarized lasing with low thresholds. Leveraging this controlled emission, we construct a dynamic triple‐modal encryption platform integrating polarization state, structural color, and laser signals. By selectively polymerizing one chiral array, we achieve temperature‐dependent switching between encrypted and decrypted states. The system enables true/false information decryption using orthogonal circular polarization keys, with lasing signals providing dynamic verification. This multi‐layered framework establishes a highly secure information model that is extremely difficult to replicate, paving the way for advanced applications in secure communication and anti‐counterfeiting.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-05-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.75622
Primary Topic
Liquid Crystal Research Advancements
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Microfluidic Hetero‐Integration of Bichiral Blue Phase Liquid Crystals for Programmable Photonics

Yanqing Chen, Z D Zhang, Zhaoqing Su, Yuchen Yue et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Liquid Crystal Research Advancements
article

Microfluidic Hetero‐Integration of Bichiral Blue Phase Liquid Crystals for Programmable Photonics

Yanqing Chen, Z D Zhang, Zhaoqing Su, Yuchen Yue, Li J, Xiuhong Li, Yi-Xiang Wang, Yuxuan Ye, Lei Jiang
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Blue‐phase liquid crystals (BPLCs) are promising soft photonic materials, yet their integration into functional devices is hindered by the reliance on rigid cells and the lack of methods for spatially programming their chirality and emission at the microscale. In this study, a microfluidic hetero‑integration strategy is developed to create uniform microcavities with precise bichiral (left‑handed and right‑handed) and dual‐color control. Through systematic optimization of wettability, cooling rate, and confinement dimensions, we elucidate the assembly mechanism and achieve deterministic fabrication of mono‐domain optical microcavities with quality factors up to ∼10 4 . The integrated architectures generate programmable dual‐color circularly polarized lasing with low thresholds. Leveraging this controlled emission, we construct a dynamic triple‐modal encryption platform integrating polarization state, structural color, and laser signals. By selectively polymerizing one chiral array, we achieve temperature‐dependent switching between encrypted and decrypted states. The system enables true/false information decryption using orthogonal circular polarization keys, with lasing signals providing dynamic verification. This multi‐layered framework establishes a highly secure information model that is extremely difficult to replicate, paving the way for advanced applications in secure communication and anti‐counterfeiting.

Advanced Functional Materials
Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN), Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics (CN), Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 14%
Liquid Crystal Research Advancements
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