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All-passive optical diode using living liquid crystal doped with silver nanorods

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Abstract

Some industrial uses of living cells involve genetic engineering or modification of cell’s external properties. However, these techniques commonly have high financial costs, do not take advantage of the natural properties of the cells, and have few applications in the photonics area. As the first technological application of living liquid crystals, we propose an all-passive optical diode using Bacillus subtilis, chromonic liquid crystal, and silver nanorods. These three elements comprise a living liquid crystal doped with nanorods that produces a spatial inversion asymmetric system, facilitating the passage of light in one direction and hampering it in the opposite one. Solving Maxwell’s equation numerically for this system, we found optical rectification for light’s intensity up to \(1700\%\). Such diodes can be the primary units for an all-passive optical film and other nonreciprocal systems.

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Acknowledgements

From Brazil, the authors thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq – 465259/2014-6), the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), the National Institute of Science and Technology Complex Fluids (INCT-FCx), and the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP – 2014/50983-3). The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polytechnic School of Pernambuco, Universidade de Pernambuco, Rua Benfica, 455, Recife, PE, 50720-001, Brazil

    Paulo F. G. Souza, Eduardo H. S. Viana, Rosana A. S. Fonseca & Erms Pereira

  2. Institute of Biology Science, Universidade de Pernambuco, Rua Arnóbio Marques, 310, Recife, PE, 50100-130, Brazil

    Rosana A. S. Fonseca

  3. Departament of Physics, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, 52171-900, Brazil

    Erms Pereira

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  1. Paulo F. G. Souza
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Contributions

RASF supervised the content about the pathological effects of the silver nanorods on the living cells. PFGS and EHSV built the theoretical model and performed numerical simulations. All the authors wrote the manuscript, analyzed the data, and contributed to the discussion. EP conceived the idea, built the theoretical model, designed the simulation, and supervised the project.

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Correspondence to Erms Pereira.

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Souza, P.F.G., Viana, E.H.S., Fonseca, R.A.S. et al. All-passive optical diode using living liquid crystal doped with silver nanorods. Appl. Phys. B 126, 115 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-020-07460-1

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