title: Unconventional High-Performance Laser Protection System Based on Dichroic Dye-Doped Cholesteric Liquid Crystals.
abstract: High-performance and cost-effective laser protection system is of crucial importance for the rapid advance of lasers in military and civilian fields leading to severe damages of human eyes and sensitive optical devices. However, it is crucially hindered by the angle-dependent protective effect and the complex preparation process. Here we demonstrate that angle-independence, good processibility, wavelength tunability, high optical density and good visibility can be effectuated simultaneously, by embedding dichroic anthraquinone dyes in a cholesteric liquid crystal matrix. More significantly, unconventional two-dimensional parabolic protection behavior is reported for the first time that in stark contrast to the existing protection systems, the overall parabolic protection behavior enables protective effect to increase with incident angles, hence providing omnibearing high-performance protection. The protective effect is controllable by dye concentration, LC cell thickness and CLC reflection efficiency, and the system can be made flexible enabling applications in flexible and even wearable protection devices. This research creates a promising avenue for the high-performance and cost-effective laser protection, and may foster the development of optical applications such as solar concentrators, car explosion-proof membrane, smart windows and polarizers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wanshu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.|Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Lanying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.|Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.|Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.lastname: Le Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jiumei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.|Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116044, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Fasheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Statistics and Science, Xijing University, Xian 710123, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Kexuan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhou
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Physics and Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, P. R. China.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.|Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Huai
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang