L'obtention de matériaux structurés sur plusieurs échelles de longueurs permet d'obtenir des propriétés physiques innovantes par rapport aux propriétés individuelles des constituants élémentaires. Dans cette thèse nous nous sommes intéressé à l'obtention de matériaux possédant des propriétés optiques nouvelles. Ainsi des bâtonnets semi-conducteurs anisotropes de type cœur-coquille ont été synthétisés. Leur forme permet de les assembler dans des phases de type cristal-liquides. Après fonctionnalisation de la surface des bâtonnets par des molécules hydrophiles possédant une charge négative, une méthode originale de séchage entre un substrat et un moule microstructuré a permis l'obtention de structures macroscopiques organisées sur plusieurs échelles. D'autres méthodes d'assemblages ont également été utilisées comme des membranes organiques forçant la structuration selon la phase cristalline désirée, mais également l'hybridation sélective de brins d'ADN complémentaire entre les bâtonnets et des nanoparticules métalliques. Les structures de ces matériaux ont alors été analysées par SAXS et microscopie électronique et les propriétés optiques par spectroscopie de fluorescence. Plusieurs types ont montré une exaltation de la fluorescence. / Obtaining structured materials on multiple scales provides innovative physical properties, which differ from the individual properties of the constituent building blocks. In this thesis we focused on obtaining materials with novel optical properties. Thus semiconductor anisotropic core/shell rods have been synthesized. Their shape allows them to assemble into liquid-crystalline phases. After functionalization of the surface by hydrophilic molecules having a negative charge, an innovative method of drying the rods suspension between a substrate and a microstructured mold was applied and macroscopic structures organized on several scales were obtained. Other assembly methods have also been studied as the use of an organic mold forcing the structuration according to a particular crystalline phase, but also the selective hybridization of complementary DNA strands between rods and metal nanoparticles. The optical properties of these materials were then analyzed by fluorescence spectroscopy and several cases have shown an enhancement of the fluorescence intensity.

La demande croissante des réseaux optiques actuels en termes de bande passante résulte en un besoin d’exploiter la capacité offerte par la fibre optique. Un des moyens indispensable pour permettre ceci est l’utilisation du multiplexage en longueur d’onde. Il en résulte la nécessité d’utilisation de dispositifs, parmi lesquels le filtre optique, agiles en longueur d’onde et transparents par rapport aux débits. C’est dans ce contexte que notre travail se situe. La technologie utilisée est celle des filtres interférentiels en polarisation. Contraint par un cahier des charges particulier aux applications télécoms, le principal objectif consiste en l’augmentation des performances de ce type de filtre d’une part, et l’association de fonctionnalités additionnelles nécessaires dans les réseaux d’autre part. En utilisant le principe physique des interférences en polarisation, une structure est alors implémentée, suivant les contraintes liées aux trois paramètres majeurs du filtre que sont le contraste, la fonction d’égalisation et la reconfiguration de la bande passante. Par ailleurs, les architectures des filtres optiques diffèrent selon l’emplacement dans le réseau. Ainsi, si une architecture des plus simples est utilisée à la réception, au niveau des nœuds du réseau, celle-ci devient beaucoup plus complexe, s’adaptant à différents degrés de nœuds, et portent le nom de multiplexeurs optiques à insertion/extraction de longueur d’onde (ROADM). Un dispositif de ce type, basé sur les filtres biréfringents, est donc présenté. Une approche système est ensuite menée dans le but de mettre en évidence les avantages et les limitations de la technologie utilisée / The growing needs, in term of bandwidth in optical networks, increase over years. To satisfy these needs, the entire bandwidth of the optical fiber has to be exploited. In this context, the wavelength division multiplexing technique is used to allow the utilization of several wavelengths and results in considerably enhanced network bit-rate. However, such networks must use specific components which have particular wavelength-capabilities. Among these components, one of the most important and critical device is the optical filter. Our work is focused on the implementation of specific optical filters, using the polarization interference filter technology. The main purpose of this work is to enhance the filter rejection ratio, and to add new functionalities such as the amplitude equalization and the bandwidth tuning functions. After satisfying optical network expectations, another point, related to the filter utilization in the network, concern the device architecture which is determined by its network-location. A simple architecture with an input and an output is needed at the reception; meanwhile, a specific one is expected at network nodes. Thus, a new kind of devices is introduced, called reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADM). Therefore, such a device is implemented by the birefringent filter developed in this manuscript. Then, the developed device is placed in a transmission chain, and simulation results underline its limitations, by proceeding to comparison between this structure and typical optical filters. As conclusion of this work, some solutions and perspectives are presented, and very interesting challenges are highlighted

In recent years, the interest in improving the properties of liquid-crystalline systems by using metallic nanoparticles has grown. This is because these materials have particular optical and electrical characteristics, associated with the plasmon resonance phenomenon. Recently, several studies have shown that the addition of gold nanoparticles affects the electrical response of liquid crystals depending on the nanoparticles geometry and the liquid-crystalline alignment. In this study, we investigated the effects of the addition of gold nanoparticles with different geometries on the relaxation time of the 4-octyl-4-cyanobiphenyl (8CB) liquid crystal, under the helical confinement conditions. We used an experimental setup that explores the Brewster angle to investigate how the application of a external electrical field and temperature of the system affect the reorientation dynamics of the director vector nearby the transition of nematic-smectic-A phase. The results obtained were analyzed within the elastic theory of Franck-Oseen e allowed us to evaluate the effects of nanoparticles on the viscoelastic parameters of the system. Our results show that the addition of nanoparticles significantly affects the electro-optical response of the investigated liquid crystals, especially in conditions of high temperature and low amplitude of the applied electrical field. In addition, we have observed that the geometry of the nanoparticles plays a key role in the modification of the electro-optical properties of the system. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Nos últimos anos, tem crescido o interesse no melhoramento das propriedades de sistemas líquido-cristalinos usando nanopartículas metálicas. Isso porque esses materiais apresentam propriedades ópticas e elétricas particulares, associadas ao fenômeno de ressonância de plásmon. Recentemente, vários trabalhos têm demonstrado que a adição de nanopartículas de ouro afetam a resposta elétrica de cristais líquidos dependendo da geometria das nanopartículas utilizadas e do alinhamento líquido-cristalino. Neste trabalho, nós investigamos os efeitos da adição de nanopartículas de ouro com diferentes geometrias sobre o tempo de relaxação de amostras do cristal liquido 4-octil-4-cianobifenil (8CB) nas condições de confinamento helicoidal. Nós usamos um aparato experimental que explora o ângulo de Brewster para investigar como a aplicação de um campo elétrico externo e a temperatura do sistema afetam a dinâmica de reorientação do vetor diretor nas proximidades da transição de fase nemática-esmética-A. Os resultados obtidos foram analisados dentro da teoria elástica de Franck-Oseen e permitiu-nos avaliar os efeitos das nanopartículas sobre os parâmetros viscoelásticos do sistema. Nossos resultados mostram que a adição de nanopartículas afeta significativamente a resposta elétro-óptica dos cristais líquidos investigados, especialmente nas condições de alta temperatura e baixa amplitude do campo elétrico aplicado. Além disso, nós observamos que a geometria das nanopartículas desempenha um papel fundamental namodificação das propriedades eletro-ópticas do sistema.