Optical properties of porous helical thin films

Porous dielectric thin films, composed of isolated helical columns, are fabricated by the glancing angle deposition technique. The selective reflection of circularly polarized light and the optical rotation of linearly polarized light are investigated as a function of film material and helical morphology. The strongest chiral optical response is observed for titanium-dioxide films because of its large refractive index. Optical rotatory powers as high as 4.5degrees are observed in 830-nm-thick helical films. By tailoring the pitch of the helical columns, the wavelength dependence of the circular reflection band is tuned to preferentially reflect red, green, or blue light, a promising quality for display applications. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.