Electrically controllable unidirectional transmission in a heterostructure composed of a photonic crystal and a deformable liquid droplet

We propose a new method to realize the tunable unidirectional behavior using a heterostructure composed of a one-dimensional photonic crystal and a deformable liquid droplet. We can control the occurrence of the unidirectional behavior in the heterostructure by adjusting the voltage applied on the liquid system. It is demonstrated that when the voltage is not applied most of incident-wave energy can be transmitted through the heterostructure for backward lights. While the forward lights can’t be transmitted, if the voltage is high enough, the one-way behavior disappears. The applied voltage to control the one-way behavior may be relatively low. Thereby, we can expect that the heterostructure may have potential applications in optical devices.

► We study the tunable unidirectional behavior using a heterostructure. ► The heterostructure is composed of a one-dimensional photonic crystal and a deformable liquid droplet. ► When the voltage is not applied the one-way phenomenon is obvious. ► If the voltage is high enough, the one-way behavior disappears.