Two-photon direct laser writing (TPP-DLW) in liquid crystals (LCs) enables a wide range of novel stimuli-responsive functionalities to be realised, which are potentially of interest for a range of technologies such as augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) displays, optical beamsteering, fast-switching devices and much more. In this presentation, we will demonstrate a method of fabricating mechanically deformable anisotropic films that behave as tunable diffraction gratings. These stretchable diffraction gratings have been fabricated using a combination of TPP-DLW and UV polymerization. For the fabrication of the grating, the LC director is frozen-in periodically to form alternating regions of high and low refractive index. To obtain the low and high refractive index, the LC director is locked-in at two different applied voltages to control the orientation of the director at the moment of exposure to the light source. When the free-standing films are subsequently subjected to a mechanical stress in the plane of the grating, it is found that there is a change in the grating period when observed on a polarizing optical microscope, which results in a concomitant change in the far-field diffraction pattern. Finally, our experimental findings for the diffraction intensity of the different orders in the far-field pattern are compared with predictions from simulations.
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