Thermooptical switching in a one-dimensional photonic crystal

The temperature dependence of the optical transmission spectrum of a one-dimensional multilayer photonic crystal structure with a central defect layer has been studied. The defect was represented by a nematic liquid crystal (5CB) layer with a homeotropic orientation. It is shows that the defect modes exhibit a 10-nm spectral shift due to a change in the refractive index of the liquid crystal in the course of heating-induced transition to the isotropic phase. A comparison of the experimental data to the results of heating-induced transition to the isotropic phase. A comparison of the experimental data to the results of numerical analysis shows the importance of allowance for the decay of defect modes.