LAUSR

Abstract Magnetic fluid is a novel optical functional material. Magneto-optical properties of the material can be tuned due to the controllability of the structure. In the paper, the microstructural characteristics of the magnetic fluid were studied theoretically and experimentally. From the theoretical perspective, a molecular dynamics method based on rod-like magnetic nanoparticle model was used to simulate the movement of the magnetic particles in an applied magnetic field. From the experimental perspective, an experimental setup was designed to observe the change of the microstructure. The results showed that the magnetic particles can be aggregated to form novel one-dimensional regular arrays when the applied magnetic field exceeded 100 Oe. The novel optical grating exhibits advantages of low cost, small size, good controllability and easy formation.