We present a neutron scattering analysis of the structure of the smectic liquid crystal octylcyanobiphenyl (8CB) confined in one-dimensional nanopores of porous silicon films (PS). The smectic transition is completely suppressed, leading to the extension of a short-range ordered smectic phase aligned along the pore axis. It evolves reversibly over an extended temperature range, down to 50 K below the N-SmA transition in pure 8CB. This behavior strongly differs from previous observations of smectics in different one-dimensional porous materials. A coherent picture of this striking behavior requires that quenched disorder effects are invoked. The strongly disordered nature of the inner surface of PS acts as random fields coupling to the smectic order. The one-dimensionality of PS nanochannels offers perspectives on quenched disorder effects, of which observation has been restricted to homogeneous random porous materials so far.

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Micro-resonators (MR) have become a key element for integrated optical sensors due to their integration capability and their easy fabrication with low cost polymer materials.Nowadays, there is a growing need on MRs as highly sensitive and selective functions especially in the areas of food and health. The context of this work is to implement and study integrated micro-ring resonators devoted to sensing applications. They are fabricated by processing SU8 polymer as core layer and PMATRIFE polymer as lower cladding layer. The refractive index of the polymers and of the waveguide structure as a function of the wavelength are presented. Using these results, a theoretical study of the coupling between ring and straight waveguides has been undertaken in order to define the MR design. Sub-micronic gaps of 0.5 µm to 1 µm between the ring and the straight waveguides have been successfully achieved with UV (i-lines) photolithography. Different superstrates such as air, water and aqueous solutions with glucose at different concentrations have been studied. First results show a good normalized transmission contrast of 0.98, a resonator quality factor around 1.5x10 4 corresponding to a coupling ratio of 14.7 % and ring propagation losses around 5 dB/cm.Preliminary sensing experiments have been performed for different concentrations of glucose; a sensitivity of 115 ± 8 nm/RIU at 1550 nm has been obtained with this couple of polymers.

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We present a neutron and X-rays scattering study of the phase transitions of 4-n-octyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) confined in unidirectional nanopores of porous alumina and porous silicon (PSi) membranes with an average diameter of 30 nm. Spatial confinement reveals a rich polymorphism, with at least four different low temperature phases in addition to the smectic A phase. The structural study as a function of thermal treatments and conditions of spatial confinement allows us to get insights into the formation of these phases and their relative stability. It gives the first description of the complete phase behavior of 8CB confined in PSi and provides a direct comparison with results obtained in bulk conditions and in similar geometric conditions of confinement but with reduced quenched disorder effects using alumina anopore membranes.

Glycerol and trehalose-glycerol binary solutions are glass-forming liquids with remarkable bioprotectant properties. Incoherent quasielastic neutron scattering is used to reveal the different effects of nanoconfinement and addition of trehalose on the molecular dynamics in the normal liquid and supercooled liquid phases, on a nanosecond time scale. Confinement has been realized in straight channels of diameter D=8 nm formed by porous silicon. It leads to a faster and more inhomogeneous relaxation dynamics deep in the liquid phase. This confinement effect remains at lower temperature where it affects the glassy dynamics. The glass transitions of the confined systems are shifted to low temperature with respect to the bulk ones. Adding trehalose tends to slow down the overall glassy dynamics and increases the nonexponential character of the structural relaxation. Unprecedented results are obtained for the binary bioprotectant solution, which exhibits an extremely non-Debye relaxation dynamics as a result of the combination of the effects of confinement and mixing of two constituents.

We analyze the molecular dynamics heterogeneity of the liquid crystal 4-n-octyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl nanoconfined in porous silicon. We show that the temperature dependence of the dynamic correlation length xi_(wall) , which measures the distance over which a memory of the interfacial slowing down of the molecular dynamics persists, is closely related to the growth of the short-range static order arising from quenched random fields. More generally, this result may also shed some light on the connection between static and dynamic heterogeneities in a wide class of condensed and soft matter systems.

International audienceThe fabrication of micro-resonators, made from porous silica ridge waveguides by using an electrochemical etching method of silicon substrate followed by thermal oxidation and then by a standard photolithography process, is reported. The design and fabrication process are described including a study of waveguide dimensions that provide single mode propagation and calculation of the coupling ratio between a straight access waveguide and the racetrack resonator. Scanning electronic microscopy observations and optical characterizations clearly show that the micro-resonator based on porous silica ridge waveguides has been well implemented. This porous micro-resonator is destined to be used as an optical sensor. The porous nature of the ridge waveguide constitutes the detection medium which will enhance the sensor sensitivity compared to usual micro-resonators based on the evanescent wave detection. A theoretical sensitivity of 1170 nm per refractive index unit has been calculated, taking into consideration experimental data obtained from the optical characterizations