Molding optical waveguides with nematicons

Optical waveguides are usually fabricated by top-down methods. Hereby, this study demonstrates a bottom-up approach based on nonlinear optics in reorientational nematic liquid crystals with polymerizable materials. Near-infrared optical spatial solitons—nematicons—in conjunction with UV exposure are employed in order to achieve (i) real-time signal waveguiding for point-to-point beam-induced interconnects by effectively quenching the fluctuations of nematicon trajectories through polymer stabilization; (ii) the molding of permanent channel waveguides in a crosslinked polymer network, so that they persist after turning off the soliton beam and confine signals of various wavelengths and intensities. These findings introduce a novel, highly versatile platform and a wealth of possibilities for guided-wave photonics, signal addressing, and processing in liquid crystalline soft matter.