Design and fabrication of liquid crystal-based lenses

Kim, Se‐Um; Na, Jun‐Hee; Kim, Chiwoo

doi:10.1080/02678292.2017.1328748

Cited by 18 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…While liquid crystal (LC) technology is widely associated with displays and spatial light modulators [ 1 , 2 ], the LC potential for other optical elements has been only partly explored. In particular, LC-based lenses have shown increasing promise in the past years due to their potential for external actuation, low energy switching, polarization sensitivity, and tunability [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Moreover, LCs offer the possibility to create lenses in the micro-scale, which would otherwise require complex manufacturing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here the rod-like molecules that compose the fluid have long-range orientational order, and their average orientation is defined by a headless vector called the nematic director. Most LC-based lenses are realized with nematic LC, and work because of the modulation of the nematic director orientation, which translates into a modulation of the refractive index [ 4 , 5 ]. Such modulation is induced by a combination of external fields and elastic energy associated to the molecular anchoring at the boundaries.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Chiral Liquid Crystal Lenses Confined in Microchannels

et al. 2020

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It is known that the liquid crystalline smectic-A phase has geometric defects, called focal conic domains, which can be used as gradient-index microlenses. Cholesteric (chiral nematic) phases also have topological defects with a central symmetry and a singularity at their center. We explore a weakly chiral system in which both types of defects can be present in the same material at different temperatures, and with this strategy we create lenses whose focal length is tunable with temperature. We measure the focal length of the tunable lenses, and we investigate the behavior of the defects near the phase transition. We identify the experimental conditions that make the simultaneous presence of the smectic focal conic domains and the circular cholesteric domains possible, such as the concentration of chiral dopant and the rate of heating and cooling. The transformation of focal conic domains into circular cholesteric domains is a new example of memory at the phase transition between smectic-A and nematic liquid crystals.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chiral Liquid Crystal Lenses Confined in Microchannels

et al. 2020

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“…This is a basic operation principle, which can be utilized to realize LC lenses with GRIN profile through quite a number of approaches. For example, LC lens is driven by patterned electrodes, [15][16][17][18][19][20] LC lens is fabricated through convex or concave surfaces treatment, [21][22][23] and composited dielectric layer is coated on the substrate of LC lens. [24][25][26] Specifically, an important class of LC lenses that offer control of the optical phase profile is based on multielectrode designs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short focal length tunable liquid crystal lenticular lens array based on fringe field effect

Chu

Tian

et al. 2020

J Soc Info Display

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A liquid crystal (LC) lenticular lens array based on fringe field effect is proposed. The gradient refractive index (GRIN) profile can be generated in the LC layer because of the fringe field between the strip-shaped electrodes and the bottom electrode. The proposed LC lenticular lens array possesses ideal lenslike phase profile and shortest focal length (1.199 mm) when the driving voltage is 5.4 V. The focal length can be tuned with millisecond response time by changing the driving voltage of the proposed LC lenticular lens array. The rise time τ rise and decay time τ decay of the proposed LC lenticular lens array are 162 and 94 ms, respectively.

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“…A microlens array is a key part for optical information processing, optical interconnection, optic fiber switches [1][2][3][4], ophthalmic application [5], three-dimensional display systems [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], and so on. A tunable LC microlens array has been investigated for 40 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrically Tunable-Focusing Liquid Crystal Microlens Array with Simple Electrode

et al. 2019

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An electrically tunable-focusing liquid crystal (LC) microlens array exhibiting a wide-range tunable focal length is proposed. The lower substrate has strip indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes, the upper substrate has periodic ITO electrodes with a certain gap coated on the inner surface., and an LC microlens is generated between the two strip electrodes. For each LC microlens, the gap between the top planar electrodes is directly above the center of the microlens. Unlike the conventional LC lens, the individual LC microlens is not coated with ITO electrodes on the central part of its upper and lower substrates, which helps to maintain the LC’s horizontal orientation. In the voltage-off state, the focal length of the microlens array is infinity because of the homogeneous LC alignment. At a given operating voltage, an ideal gradient refractive index distribution is induced over the homogeneous LC layer, which leads to the focusing effect. The simulation result shows that the focal length of the LC microlens could be gradually drawn to 0.381 mm with a change of voltage.

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Design and fabrication of liquid crystal-based lenses

Cited by 18 publications

References 88 publications

Chiral Liquid Crystal Lenses Confined in Microchannels

Chiral Liquid Crystal Lenses Confined in Microchannels

Short focal length tunable liquid crystal lenticular lens array based on fringe field effect

Electrically Tunable-Focusing Liquid Crystal Microlens Array with Simple Electrode

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