Liquid crystal phase retarder with broad spectral range

Schirmer, Jörg; Schmidt-Kaler, Th.

doi:10.1016/s0030-4018(00)00538-1

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Therefore, we turn immediately to numerical optimization for almost all MTR designs, using Eq. (6). At a high level, this design process is simple: setup a cost function f , and search for its global (and sometimes local) minima.…”

Section: Mtr Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A first approach [4][5][6] employs at least two homogeneous plates of different materials (i.e., Δn) and d, usually arranged with orthogonal optical axes ( Fig. 1(a)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1(c)). The principle can be extended further [6,11,12], so that additional retarders ( Fig. 1(d)) allow for almost arbitrarily wide achromatic bandwidths in principle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-twist retarders: broadband retardation control using self-aligning reactive liquid crystal layers

Komanduri¹,

Lawler²,

Escuti³

2013

Opt. Express

135

100

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We report on a family of complex birefringent elements, called Multi-Twist Retarders (MTRs), which offer remarkably effective control of broadband polarization transformation. MTRs consist of two or more twisted liquid crystal (LC) layers on a single substrate and with a single alignment layer. Importantly, subsequent LC layers are aligned directly by prior layers, allowing simple fabrication, achieving automatic layer registration, and resulting in a monolithic film with a continuously varying optic axis. In this work, we employ a numerical design method and focus on achromatic quarter- and half-wave MTRs. In just two or three layers, these have bandwidths and general behavior that matches or exceeds all traditional approaches using multiple homogenous retarders. We validate the concept by fabricating several quarter-wave retarders using a commercial polymerizeable LC, and show excellent achromaticity across bandwidths of 450-650 nm and 400-800 nm. Due to their simple fabrication and many degrees of freedom, MTRs are especially well suited for patterned achromatic retarders, and can easily achieve large bandwidth and/or low-variation of retardation within visible through infrared wavelengths.

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Section: Mtr Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A first approach [4][5][6] employs at least two homogeneous plates of different materials (i.e., Δn) and d, usually arranged with orthogonal optical axes ( Fig. 1(a)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Multi-twist retarders: broadband retardation control using self-aligning reactive liquid crystal layers

Komanduri¹,

Lawler²,

Escuti³

2013

Opt. Express

135

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recently, some broadband linear polarization converters consisting of liquid crystal cells and polymer films have been reported (Zhuang et al 2000;Wang 2004;Wang et al 2004Wang et al , 2005. In addition, a liquid crystal phase retarder with spectral range from 400 to 900 nm, composed of six layers of planar aligned nematic liquid crystal, has been reported too (Schirmer and Schmidt-Kaler 2000). The results are encouraging us to develop a novel achromatic quarter-wave plate using TNLC cells with simple configuration and low cost.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Optimal design of achromatic quarter-wave plate using twisted nematic liquid crystal cells

She

Shen

Wang³

2005

Opt Quant Electron

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A novel configuration of achromatic quarter-wave plate using two twisted nematic liquid crystal (TNLC) cells is presented. The 4 · 4 Mueller matrix is used to describe the optical properties of the liquid crystal cells. The universal tabu (Utabu) search method is used for optimizing the structural parameters.Simulation results indicate that the designed structure is capable of turning a linearly polarized light into perfectly circularly polarized light and vice versa in wavelength range 1200-1650 nm. The manufacturing tolerances of cell gap, twisted angle, etc. are good.

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“…A thick combination of multiorder wave plates is needed, because of the weak natural birefringence of crystals, which results in an increased absorption of IR radiation. Achromatic retarders can also be produced by using liquid crystals (LCs) [4], liquid crystal polymers (LCPs) [5], or photonic crystals (PhCs) [6,7] as the birefringent materials. A weakness of these liquid or photonic crystal retarders is their bandwidth: they do not transmit at wavelengths beyond the nearinfrared (H-band centered at ∼1.65 μm, K-band ∼2.2 μm) [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design, manufacturing, and performance analysis of mid-infrared achromatic half-wave plates with diamond subwavelength gratings

et al. 2012

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In this paper, we present a solution for creating robust monolithic achromatic half-wave plates (HWPs) for the infrared, based on the form birefringence of subwavelength gratings (SWGs) made out of diamond. We use the rigorous coupled wave analysis to design the gratings. Our analysis shows that diamond, besides its outstanding physical and mechanical properties, is a suitable substrate to manufacture mid-infrared HWPs, thanks to its high refractive index, which allows etching SWGs with lower aspect ratio. Based on our optimized design, we manufactured a diamond HWP for the 11-13.2 μm region, with an estimated mean retardance ∼3.143 0.061 rad (180.08 3.51°). In addition, an antireflective grating was etched on the backside of the wave plate, allowing a total transmittance between 89% and 95% over the band.

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Liquid crystal phase retarder with broad spectral range

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

Multi-twist retarders: broadband retardation control using self-aligning reactive liquid crystal layers

Multi-twist retarders: broadband retardation control using self-aligning reactive liquid crystal layers

Optimal design of achromatic quarter-wave plate using twisted nematic liquid crystal cells

Design, manufacturing, and performance analysis of mid-infrared achromatic half-wave plates with diamond subwavelength gratings

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