Electrical control of the structure and lasing in chiral photonic band-gap liquid crystals

This letter describes the electrical control of structure and lasing in the photonic bandgaps of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs). Photoexcitation of dye-doped CLC cells with a linearly polarized laser gives rise to laser emission at the edge(s) of the chiral photonic band gap. Applying voltages to the optically pumped CLC cells enables reversible switching of the laser action as a result of the structural changes in the chiral photonic band gap. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.