Invited Paper SE+TF+NC-ThM1
Sculptured Thin Films: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Thursday, October 23, 2008, 8:00 am, Room 204

Sculptured thin films (STFs) are assemblies of parallel shaped columns with nanoscale features.¹ The demonstrated optical and biological functionalities of STFs suggest their classification as nanoengineered metamaterials. Deliberate engineering of the shape of columns was accomplished about 35 years before the formal conceptualization of STFs as optical materials in the early 1990s. Thereafter, the language of liquid crystals was borrowed to describe their optical constitutive properties. The design of columnar morphology for STF-based devices to engineer the optical polarization state became well-established about five years ago. The research front for optical applications of STFs now comprises electrically controllable optical filters, light sources of specific polarization states, and plasmonics. High-quality optical performance may necessitate post-deposition processes that result in blue-shifting of spectral features. In contrast, high precision in morphology appears unnecessary for using STFs as platforms for cell cultures.

¹ A. Lakhtakia and R. Messier, Sculptured Thin Films (SPIE Press, 2005).