Ling-Ling Ma

Ling-Ling Ma

Assistant Professor, Nanjing University

LingLing Ma, School of Modern Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, doctoral supervisor. Her primary research focuses on liquid crystal artificial microstructures and soft matter photonics, including the design and fabrication of liquid crystal superstructures, multidimensional optical field manipulation, holographic displays, and nonlinear liquid crystal photonics. To date, she has published more than 40 academic papers, among which over 30 have been published as first or corresponding author in top-tier international journals such as Nature Communications, Science Advances, eLight, Light: Science & Applications, and Advanced Materials. Her work includes 3 ESI Highly Cited Papers, 3 ESI Hot Papers, and 9 cover-featured articles, and has been highlighted in special reports by international scientific media such as ScienceDaily and Phys.Org. In addition, she has been granted 15 invention patents. She has been selected for the Young Talent Support Project of the China Association for Science and Technology, the Outstanding Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province, and the Jiangsu Province "Double Innovation Doctoral" Program. She has also received the First Prize of Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Award, the First Prize of Jiangsu Materials Society Science and Technology Award, the Chinese Laser Press "Qingyun Award," and the ISPN Young Researcher Award.

Title

Nonlinear Light Field Manipulation via Ferroelectric Nematic Microstructures

Abstract：

Ferroelectric nematic liquid crystals (FNLCs) combine fluidic processability with high second-order nonlinear susceptibility, providing a versatile platform for "Soft Mattonics". We present nonlinear light field manipulation via photopatterned FNLC microstructures. By discovering a novel NX mesophase featuring periodically-modulated unipolar and bipolar orders, we achieve designable, defect-free in-plane domain engineering. This allows the direct generation of second-harmonic perfect vector beams from a single-layer, micrometer-thin device. Additionally, we demonstrate reconfigurable nonlinear Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) optics using ion-doped FNLCs. Spatial modulation of the nonlinear PB phase enables programmable beam steering and dynamic control of second-harmonic signals under ultra-low electric fields (0.06 V/μm). These advancements establish a foundation for miniaturized and reconfigurable nonlinear photonic applications.