Application of ultra-thin indium–tin–oxide film in liquid crystal lens

Abstract

The resistance of indium–tin–oxide (ITO) film increases with the decrease in film thickness. An ultra-thin ITO (UTITO) film with a high resistance is realised by adjusting the deposition time during sputtering. The fabricated UTITO film is then placed at the interface between the dielectric and liquid crystal (LC) layers in large-aperture hole-patterned LC lens. With an appropriate frequency and amplitude of applied voltage, the inserted UTITO film effectively spreads the voltage into the centre of the large-aperture hole-patterned LC lens, which assists in rotating the LC molecules therein. Consequently, the addressing voltage and switching time of the LC lens can be remarkably decreased. The LC lens with the insertion of UTITO film obtains a low wavefront error and high focusing quality and image performance. The innovative concept for fabricating the low-voltage LC adaptive lens with a UTITO film is competitive to other methods.