Birefringent Materials
Birefringence arises when the refractive index differs depending on which direction the light travels through the material. It is a fundamental property of anisotropic materials such as non-cubic crystalline solids and liquid crystals. The most well-known case of birefringence is that of Icelandic spar, a transparent form of calcite. Images viewed through these crystals are "split" into two.
We are working in collaboration with the group of Danny Leznoff (SFU) to create coordination networks and other inorganic/organic hybrid materials that exhibit extremely high birefringence values. The fundamental question that we are trying to answer is this: Can we rationally design new crystalline materials that have specific birefringence values?
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