Open AccessElectrically tunable polarization independent liquid crystal lenses based on orthogonally anisotropic orientations on adjacent micro-domains
Author(s) -
YiHsin Lin,
Yu-Jen Wang,
Guo-Lin Hu,
Victor Reshetnyak
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.438398
Subject(s) - polarizer , liquid crystal , optics , materials science , polarization (electrochemistry) , anisotropy , optoelectronics , phase modulation , lens (geology) , phase (matter) , birefringence , physics , phase noise , quantum mechanics , chemistry
Polarization dependency is an intrinsic property of liquid crystals (LC) devices but major problem is optical efficiency. We demonstrated a polarization independent liquid crystal phase modulation based on the orthogonal nematic LC (OLC) mode wherein the optics axes of nematic liquid crystal molecules are set orthogonally to adjacent sub-domains for the first time. Such an OLC mode includes sub-domain with anisotropic orientations but collectively presents a capability of a polarizer-free optical phase modulation. An OLC mode cell provides a tunable optical phase of ∼3.35π radians for unpolarized light and different linearly polarized light. Among the polarizer-free LC mode, the proposed OLC mode is single-layered with large tunable optical phase. We also demonstrated a polarizer-free LC micro-lens. We expect this novel LC mode provide alternatives technology roadmap for upcoming optical applications, such as electrically tunable ophthalmic lenses and optical systems for augmented reality.