Juheon Lee

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Liquid crystal phases exhibit distinctive properties due to their unique molecular ordering, making them central to materials science and soft matter physics. Their orientational ordering induces birefringence, which can be detected by optical microscopy. However, the analysis of 3D orientation, material distribution, and anisotropy from scattered light poses significant challenges due to the vector nature of the light-matter interaction. In this study, we formulate a scattering theory based on the Rytov approximation, commonly employed in scalar wave tomography, tailored to accommodate vector waves by modifying the scattering matrix. Using this formulation, we reveal the intricate 3D structure of liquid crystals with multiple topological defects. Specifically, we visualize the 3D structures of topological defects that were indistinguishable using conventional 2D imaging methods.

Dielectric tensor tomography is an imaging technique for mapping three-dimensional distributions of dielectric properties in transparent materials. This work introduces an enhanced illumination strategy employing a micro-electromechanical system mirror to achieve high precision and reduced noise in imaging. This illumination approach allows for precise manipulation of light, significantly improving the accuracy of angle control and minimizing diffraction noise compared to traditional beam steering approaches. Our experiments have successfully reconstructed the dielectric properties of liquid crystal droplets, which are known for their anisotropic structures, while demonstrating a notable reduction in the background noise of the images. Additionally, the technique has been applied to more complex samples, revealing its capability to achieve a high signal-to-noise ratio. This development represents a significant step forward in the field of birefringence imaging, offering a powerful tool for detailed study of materials with anisotropic properties.

The ability to unveil the spatial distribution of refractive index (RI) within volumetric holographic optical elements (HOEs) is critical for quantitating their diffractive behaviors. Angle‐resolved far‐field measurements of diffractive intensity have been prevalent toward this end. However, this century‐old approach is unable to directly visualize the spatial distribution of RI at mesoscopic scale. More significantly, visualization of molecular orientation within photoaddressable polymers (PAPs), which serve as standard recording media for polarization HOEs (pHOEs), remains uncharted territory. The recent advent of dielectric tensor tomography (DTT) has paved the way for full characterization of 3D anisotropic dielectric tensors, encompassing principal RIs and their optic axes. This study embarks on direct visualization of the 3D spatial distribution of anisotropic molecular orientations within holographically recorded PAPs. Illuminating these PAPs with polarized light at varying angles, the diffracted vector fields essential for reconstructing the dielectric tensor tomogram are captured. After diagonalizing the dielectric tensors, periodic rotations of the anisotropic molecule orientations can be visualized in the PAPs, which have never been achieved so far. The homogeneity of grating patterns produced under diverse manufacturing conditions is also examined and juxtaposed.

Dielectric tensor tomography (DTT) enables the reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) dielectric tensors, which provides a physical measure of 3D optical anisotropy. Herein, we present a cost-effective and robust method of DTT using spatial multiplexing. Exploiting two orthogonally polarized reference beams with different angles in an off-axis interferometer, two polarization-sensitive interferograms were multiplexed and recorded using a single camera. Then, the two interferograms were demultiplexed in the Fourier domain. By measuring the polarization-sensitive fields for various illumination angles, 3D dielectric tensor tomograms were reconstructed. The proposed method was experimentally demonstrated by reconstructing the 3D dielectric tensors of various liquid-crystal (LC) particles with radial and bipolar orientational configurations.