Abstract:Development of liquid crystal (LC) lenses is limited by the power law. The aperture size of LC lenses is traded for the lens power. In this letter, we prove theoretically and experimentally that the aperture size is not limited by the power law based on a polarizer-free LC lens exploiting an embeddedmultilayered structure. By adding numbers of LC layers, the aperture size of the LC lens can be enlarged without lowering the tunable lens power. The optical theory of the polarization independence of the LC lens i… Show more
“…Actually, the concept we proposed in the manuscript could be extended to other AR systems and then the aperture sizes of LC devices should be enlarged. The polarizer-free LC lenses with large aperture size could be achieved by adopting a multilayered approach 26 .Figure 4Voltage-dependent lens power of “LC lens 1” and “LC lens 2”. Red circles stand for lens power of “LC lens 1” at a fixed V
1 of 70 V
rms while at different V
2 ( f = 7 kHz), and blue hollow diamonds stand for lens power of “LC lens 1” at different V
1 while at a fixed V
2 of 75 V rms ( f = 2 kHz).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This indicates that P
LC 1 and P
LC 2 are correlated to each other when both registration and vision correction are achieved simultaneously. Typically, the lens powers of LC lenses with large aperture ranges from −1.5 D to +2.0 D 26 . The viewing distance is assumed from 32 cm to infinity.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…x- and y-linearly polarized light) experience same phase shift. Thereafter, light propagate out of the LC lens () can be described as 26 .where k is the wave number, d is the thickness of a LC layer, r is , and r
0 is radius of the LC lens. n
e and n
o are extraordinary and ordinary refractive index of LC, respectively.…”
Augmented reality (AR), which use computer-aided projected information to augment our sense, has important impact on human life, especially for the elder people. However, there are three major challenges regarding the optical system in the AR system, which are registration, vision correction, and readability under strong ambient light. Here, we solve three challenges simultaneously for the first time using two liquid crystal (LC) lenses and polarizer-free attenuator integrated in optical-see-through AR system. One of the LC lens is used to electrically adjust the position of the projected virtual image which is so-called registration. The other LC lens with larger aperture and polarization independent characteristic is in charge of vision correction, such as myopia and presbyopia. The linearity of lens powers of two LC lenses is also discussed. The readability of virtual images under strong ambient light is solved by electrically switchable transmittance of the LC attenuator originating from light scattering and light absorption. The concept demonstrated in this paper could be further extended to other electro-optical devices as long as the devices exhibit the capability of phase modulations and amplitude modulations.
“…Actually, the concept we proposed in the manuscript could be extended to other AR systems and then the aperture sizes of LC devices should be enlarged. The polarizer-free LC lenses with large aperture size could be achieved by adopting a multilayered approach 26 .Figure 4Voltage-dependent lens power of “LC lens 1” and “LC lens 2”. Red circles stand for lens power of “LC lens 1” at a fixed V
1 of 70 V
rms while at different V
2 ( f = 7 kHz), and blue hollow diamonds stand for lens power of “LC lens 1” at different V
1 while at a fixed V
2 of 75 V rms ( f = 2 kHz).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This indicates that P
LC 1 and P
LC 2 are correlated to each other when both registration and vision correction are achieved simultaneously. Typically, the lens powers of LC lenses with large aperture ranges from −1.5 D to +2.0 D 26 . The viewing distance is assumed from 32 cm to infinity.…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…x- and y-linearly polarized light) experience same phase shift. Thereafter, light propagate out of the LC lens () can be described as 26 .where k is the wave number, d is the thickness of a LC layer, r is , and r
0 is radius of the LC lens. n
e and n
o are extraordinary and ordinary refractive index of LC, respectively.…”
Augmented reality (AR), which use computer-aided projected information to augment our sense, has important impact on human life, especially for the elder people. However, there are three major challenges regarding the optical system in the AR system, which are registration, vision correction, and readability under strong ambient light. Here, we solve three challenges simultaneously for the first time using two liquid crystal (LC) lenses and polarizer-free attenuator integrated in optical-see-through AR system. One of the LC lens is used to electrically adjust the position of the projected virtual image which is so-called registration. The other LC lens with larger aperture and polarization independent characteristic is in charge of vision correction, such as myopia and presbyopia. The linearity of lens powers of two LC lenses is also discussed. The readability of virtual images under strong ambient light is solved by electrically switchable transmittance of the LC attenuator originating from light scattering and light absorption. The concept demonstrated in this paper could be further extended to other electro-optical devices as long as the devices exhibit the capability of phase modulations and amplitude modulations.
“…Many researchers are still working on better LC lenses for ophthalmic applications and hard contact lenses. [4,9,16,18,[21][22][23] The LC devices could help in solving challenges in AR system. The concept in this paper could also extend to other devices as long as the devices exhibit tunable lens powers.…”
Electrically tunable lens power of liquid crystal (LC) lenses attracts many applications. The basic mechanism, structures, and development of LC lenses are reviewed. How LC lenses assist in registration of images and vision correction in augmented reality is discussed.
“…Considering the frequency dependent impedance of the LC layer ZLC (i.e., 1 ( ) different frequencies of the electric field. [4,16] As a result, the voltages V1, V2, and frequency affect the distribution of the phase profile. Therefore, we are able to find the appropriate applied voltages and frequency to obtain maximum tunable lens power which is demonstrated and discussed more in next section.…”
Section: Structure and Operating Principlesmentioning
Large aperture and polarizer-free liquid crystal lenses (LC lenses) based on a double-layered structure for ophthalmic applications are demonstrated. The polarizer-free LC lens functions as both of a positive lens and a negative lens with large aperture size of 10mm. The lens power is electrically and continuously tunable ranging from -1.32Diopter to 1.83 Diopter. To demonstrate the polarization independency, the wavefronts of the LC lenses under different polarized light were measured and discussed. The detail operations of the applied voltage and frequency are also discussed. The imaging performance of the LC lens is also evaluated. This study provide a detail understanding of the polarizer-free LC lenses based on a double-layered structure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
