Accurate control of laser emission from cholesteric liquid crystal elastomers

Helical structure of cholesteric liquid crystals (CLC) creates a photonic crystal which can serve as a distributed cavity providing lasing. Cholesteric liquid crystals elastomers (CLCE) are soft solids with optical properties of low molecular weight CLCs incorporated into a polymer network. The sensitivity of photonic properties of CLCEs to mechanical strain enables mechanically tunable lasing from CLCE films. This work discusses the accuracy of mechanical tuning of lasing emission wavelength from dye doped CLCE by imposing uniaxial compression strain parallel to the helical axis and highlights technological challenges important for practical applications of these materials.