Fast switching cholesteric liquid crystal optical beam deflector with polarization independence

Shang, Xiaobing; Meeus, Laurens; Cuypers, Dieter; Smet, Herbert De

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-06944-z

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The lowest relative transmission fluctuation ratio (4.4%) is found for the scheme without alignment layer or rubbing (Scheme 4) as explained in [87]. The remaining polarization dependence is attributed…”

Section: Conflicts Of Interestmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Moving the electrode below the grating structure reduces the tilt angle of the electric field and further diminish the polarization dependence at the expense of higher driving voltages, as confirmed by an experiment with a nematic LC-grating device as shown in Figure 20b. The lowest relative transmission fluctuation ratio (4.4%) is found for the scheme without alignment layer or rubbing (Scheme 4) as explained in [87]. The remaining polarization dependence is attributed to the tilted nature of the electric fields if the transparent electrode is positioned on top of the grating structures.…”

Section: Polarization Independent Beam Shaping Using a Ch Lc-micro Grating Devicementioning

confidence: 82%

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Active Optical Beam Shaping Based on Liquid Crystals and Polymer Micro-Structures

et al. 2020

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Emerging applications requiring light beam manipulation, such as high-efficiency sunlight concentrators for solar cells, switchable micro-lens arrays for autostereoscopic displays, tunable lenses for augmented reality goggles, auto-focusing spectacles, and smart contact lenses, mostly depend on one or more active optical components with the desired and controllable beam modifying functionalities, preferably manufactured at relatively low cost. Recent progress in research on components based on the combination of liquid crystals (LCs) and various polymer micro-structures is reviewed in this paper. It is found that such components can address the demands appropriately and have the potential of paving the way for large-scale applications of active optical beam shaping components.

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Section: Conflicts Of Interestmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Polarization Independent Beam Shaping Using a Ch Lc-micro Grating Devicementioning

confidence: 82%

Active Optical Beam Shaping Based on Liquid Crystals and Polymer Micro-Structures

et al. 2020

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“…Liquid crystal (LC) has been widely used in various applications such as tunable lenses [ 5 , 6 ], holographic displays [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], smart glasses [ 10 ], random lasing [ 11 ], and intensity modulators [ 12 ] by taking advantage of a low cost with a relatively simple process, and it has also been used for beam steering as an electro optical modulators [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Among them, nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) have the advantage of a low driving voltage, robust manufacturing process, and a low cost; in particular, the NLCs with a high birefringence are of special interest because they can reduce switching time with a small cell gap [ 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimization of Optical Phase Profile in Beam Deflector with Advanced Simulation Method for High Diffraction Efficiency

et al. 2022

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Controlling the phase of light with a high efficiency and precision is essential for applications in imaging, tunable devices, and optical systems. Spatial light modulators (SLMs) based on liquid crystals (LCs) have been regarded as one of the best choices for the generation of phase profiles for the steering of light. The upper glass substrate has an unpatterned electrode for a common electrode, while the lower glass substrate has one-dimensional micro-patterned electrodes for controlling the single pixel level by the applied voltages. By applying different voltages to each electrode to create a sawtooth-shaped phase profile, the collimated input beam is deflected to the desired angle. To maximize the diffraction efficiency (DE) values, an advanced simulation method has been developed to find the optimized phase profile through the analysis of LC director distributions. The resulting diffraction patterns are investigated both computationally and experimentally, with a good agreement between the results obtained. Finally, the beam deflector (BD) system with an advanced driving algorithm has a high 1st order DE, about 60%, 37%, and 7.5% at 1°, 2.5°, and a maximum steering angle of 7.5°, respectively. The LC director distributions in relation to various diffraction angles are simulated and an experimental success in realizing enhanced DE for the beam steering device is presented.

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“…To improve the response time of the LC device, manipulation with a driving signal, temperature, thickness of the LC layer or changes to the order of the molecules can be used. Furthermore, special materials have been designed to meet the requirements of fast response time, such as the cholesterics [ 31 ], blue phases [ 32 ] or very fast DFLCs [ 33 , 34 ] mentioned above. An interesting and promising method to speed up the response time is polymerization of the LC host with a monomer to obtain a polymer network LC (PNLC) and polymer-stabilized LC (PSLC) [ 35 , 36 , 37 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electro-Optical and Photo Stabilization Study of Nematic Ternary Mixture

et al. 2021

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Liquid crystal materials composed of mixed nematic compounds find broad use in liquid crystal displays and photonic applications. A ternary mixture formed from three different nematic compounds shows peculiar behavior such as tunable electro-optical properties dependent on the frequency of the driving voltage. The paper presents an analysis of the response time and phase retardation of a frequency tunable nematic liquid crystal mixture (under code name 5005). This material possesses high birefringence (Δn = 0.32 at 633 nm) as well as high dielectric anisotropy (Δε = 6.3 at 100 Hz). The unique property of the 5005 mixture is frequency-controlled phase modulation, as in a dual frequency liquid crystal, while dielectric anisotropy goes to zero instead of being negative at high frequencies. For each component of the mixture, details on mesomorphic properties and their role in the formulation of the mixture are reported. The 5005 mixture was characterized by multiple investigation techniques, such as temperature dependence dielectric anisotropy, transmittance measurements image polarizing microscopy, and UV stability.

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Fast switching cholesteric liquid crystal optical beam deflector with polarization independence

Cited by 12 publications

References 27 publications

Active Optical Beam Shaping Based on Liquid Crystals and Polymer Micro-Structures

Active Optical Beam Shaping Based on Liquid Crystals and Polymer Micro-Structures

Optimization of Optical Phase Profile in Beam Deflector with Advanced Simulation Method for High Diffraction Efficiency

Electro-Optical and Photo Stabilization Study of Nematic Ternary Mixture

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