This thesis investigates the use of single liquid-crystal droplets as optical microresonators and lasers. We have shown that liquid-crystal droplets can support a number of different optical modes that can be excited by introducing a fluorescent dye in the liquid crystal material and using an external excitation source of light. …
The thesis presents experimental studies of colloidal interactions and novel colloidal structures in confined nematic liquid crystal using optical tweezers. Liquid crystal colloids are a novel class of composite materials with well-controlled periodic structures in the nanometer and micrometer ranges. Moreover, they also posses novel mechanical, optical and rheological properties, …