Open AccessImproved saturation and wide-viewing angle color filters based on multi-twist retarders
Author(s) -
Lingshan Li,
Shuojia Shi,
Michael J. Escuti
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.416961
Subject(s) - optics , birefringence , materials science , color filter array , polarizing filter , cyan , color space , magenta , viewing angle , rgb color model , polarization (electrochemistry) , optical filter , liquid crystal display , achromatic lens , retarder , high color , structural coloration , optical engineering , optoelectronics , liquid crystal , color gel , computer science , color image , image processing , artificial intelligence , physics , photonic crystal , nanotechnology , chemistry , image (mathematics) , composite material , layer (electronics) , inkwell , thin film transistor
Birefringent color filters serve a critical role in next-generation display systems, including augmented-/virtual-/mixed-reality headsets, and many types of optical remote sensing. Most prior polarization interference filters (PIFs) employ many individually aligned plates that enable only relatively thick color filters (≥100s of µm), are usually limited to small clear apertures (few cm), and offer poor off-axis performance. Here, we report on a family of monolithic, thin-film, birefringent PIFs formed using liquid crystal polymer (LCP) network materials, also known as reactive mesogens. These multi-twist retarders (MTRs) are only a few µm thick and have a single alignment surface. They offer high color saturation with a notch-type pass/stopband, analogous to Solc PIFs and stable off-axis performance. Here, we apply simplifying assumptions inspired by Solc PIFs, and develop a design method resulting in MTRs with an alternating achiral/chiral architecture. We theoretically and experimentally presented three types of MTR color filters (blue-yellow, green-magenta, and cyan-red), which manifest strong color filtering behavior and improved angular performance (up to ±20 ° ) with larger color space coverage and high total light efficiency compared to their Solc filters counterparts. Such high-saturated and wide-viewing MTR color filters can be promising elements to maintain the system field of view (FOV) in the next-generation displays or spectral imaging applications.