title: Tunable all-optical switching in periodic structures with liquid-crystal defects.
abstract: We suggest that tunable orientational nonlinearity of nematic liquid crystals can be employed for all-optical switching in periodic photonic structures with liquid-crystal defects. We consider a one-dimensional periodic structure of Si layers with a local defect created by infiltrating a liquid crystal into a pore, and demonstrate, by solving numerically a system of coupled nonlinear equations for the nematic director and the propagating electric field, that the light-induced Freedericksz transition can lead to a sharp switching and diode operation in the photonic devices.
authors.forename: Andrey E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Miroshnichenko
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pinkevych
authors.forename: Yuri S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kivshar