Next-Generation Liquid Crystal Devices and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Liquid crystal (LC) materials continue to be a cornerstone of modern photonics, underpinning technologies from ubiquitous displays and sensors to sophisticated adaptive optics and tunable lasers. Today, the field is undergoing a transformative shift beyond these traditional applications. Emerging LC systems—such as cholesteric photonic structures, hybrid LC–nanomaterial composites, and soft responsive LC architectures—are driving a new generation of device concepts with enhanced functionality, reconfigurability, and superior optical performance. With breakthroughs in materials engineering, device miniaturization, and multifunctional integration, liquid crystal technologies are rapidly expanding into advanced fields such as wearable sensing, soft photonics, neuromorphic devices, and next-generation communication systems. This evolution presents both exciting opportunities and new challenges in the design, fabrication, and application of these versatile photonic devices.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, which aims to highlight recent advances, identify emerging directions, and provide a platform for innovative research on next-generation liquid crystal devices and their practical applications in modern photonics.

This Special Issue aims to explore the design, fabrication, and application of next-generation liquid crystal devices. Emphasis is placed on innovations that extend the functionality of LC systems, including but not limited to adaptive photonic components, intelligent sensing platforms, chiral optical structures, tunable lasers, and integrated soft-matter devices. These topics fall squarely within the scope of Photonics, especially in the areas of optical materials, photonic device engineering, and emerging optical technologies.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Next-generation LC display and modulation technologies.
• Advanced LC sensing systems (chemical, biological, and environmental).
• Cholesteric and chiral liquid crystal photonic devices.
• LC-based lasers and tunable emission systems.
• Hybrid LC–nanomaterial devices and functional composites.
• LC-enabled soft photonics and flexible optical platforms.
• LC micro-resonators, waveguides, and integrated photonic structures.
• Electrically, optically, or chemically responsive LC architectures.
• LC devices for communication, imaging, security, or wearable technologies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Rui Duan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.