Liquid Crystal Gratings Research Articles

Fast response and transparent optically isotropic liquid crystal diffraction grating.

We have demonstrated an electrically tunable less polarization sensitive and fast response nanostructured polymer dispersed liquid crystal (nano-PDLC) diffraction grating. Fabricated nano-PDLC is optically transparent in visible wavelength regime. The optical isotropic nature was increased by minimizing the liquid crystal droplet size below visible wavelength thereby eliminated scattering. Diffraction properties of in-plane switching (IPS) and fringe-field switching (FFS) cells were measured and compared with one another up to four orders. We have obtained a pore-type polymer network constructed by highly interlinked polymer beads at which the response time is improved by strong interaction of liquid crystal molecules with polymer beads at interface. The diffraction pattern obtained by transparent nano-PDLC film has several interesting properties such as less polarization dependence and fast response. This device can be used as transparent tunable diffractor along with other photonic application.

Two-dimensional switchable blue phase gratings manufactured by nanosphere lithography.

Switchable two dimensional liquid crystal diffraction gratings are promising candidates in beam steering devices, multiplexers and holographic displays. For these areas of applications a high degree of integration in optical systems is much sought-after. In the context of diffraction gratings this means that the angle of diffraction should be rather high, which typically poses a problem as the fabrication of small grating periods is challenging. In this paper, we propose the use of nanosphere lithography (NSL) for the fabrication of two-dimensionally structured electrodes with a periodicity of a few micrometers. NSL is based on the self-assembly of micro- or nanometer sized spheres into monolayers. It allows for easy substrate structuring on wafer scale. The manufactured electrode is combined with a liquid crystalline polymer-stabilized blue phase, which facilitates sub-millisecond electrical switching of the diffraction efficiency at a diffraction angle of 21.4°.

Light-Driven Liquid Crystal Circular Dammann Grating Fabricated by a Micro-Patterned Liquid Crystal Polymer Phase Mask.

As one of the diffractive optical elements, circular Dammann grating has shown its excellent versatility in practical applications. The electrically switchable Dammann grating has been extensively investigated; however, the research on the optically tunable circular Dammann grating has received less attention and reports on this subject have been insufficient in the past decade. In this paper, three-order and eight-order binary-phase liquid crystal circular Dammann gratings with two mutually orthogonal photo-induced alignments in every two adjacent alignment domains, fabricated by a micro-patterned liquid crystal polymer phase mask, are proposed to generate annular uniform-intensity patterns in the far field. A simple maskless optical tuning of an eight-order liquid crystal circular Dammann grating is demonstrated by controlling the polarization of an ultraviolet light as well as the energy dose. The proposed liquid crystal circular Dammann gratings with high efficiencies and desirable uniformities exhibit outstanding optical as well as electrical tunabilities, enabling the widespread prospective applications in adaptive photonic chips stimulated flexibly by only light or by the combination of light and electric field.

Design of Switchable Guided-Mode Resonant Filters in Zenithal-Bistable Liquid-Crystal Gratings

An electro-optically switchable infrared filter based on guided-mode resonances in a zenithal-bistable liquid-crystal grating is designed and theoretically investigated. By proper selection of the material and geometrical parameters, it is shown that the grating can switch between transparent and narrowband filtering operation. Switching times of few milliseconds are predicted owing to the employment of a dual-frequency nematic liquid crystal as the addressable material. The tunability of the resonant wavelength is also studied following two approaches, namely, the adjustment of the angle of incidence of the impinging lightwave and the liquid-crystal tuning by the electro-optic effect.

New developments in the dye-doped polymer dispersed liquid crystals gratings: A review

ABSTRACTIn this study, the dye-doped polymer dispersed liquid crystals (PDLC) gratings techniques performed by the various research groups or being developed are briefly reviewed. Especially, the electrically switched diffraction and holographic gratings, have attained much attention by various research groups working in the PDLC-related display studies. The fabrication methodologies used for such grating texture, include like the conventional dye-doped PDLC grating, Azo-dye doped PDLC gratings, and lasing techniques etc., adopted for dye-doped PDLC gratings. The useful features and characteristics of their fabrication process of such gratings are discussed. Finally, some of the future perspectives on this particular research field are presented.

Optical properties of a dichroic dye-doped liquid-crystal grating and its application to optical rotation measurement.

The diffraction properties of a twisted nematic liquid-crystal (TN-LC) grating, in which a dichroic dye was doped, were investigated experimentally in terms of the applicability to an optical system for determining the polarization angle of incident linearly polarized light. The main reason to dope a nematic LC material with a dichroic dye was to enhance the polarization dependence of the diffracted light intensities for the positive and negative first orders. We found the best values of the applied voltage for application in polarization angle measurement. The TN-LC grating with a high polarization sensibility was applied to the optical system for measuring the concentration of an optically active component in a liquid specimen. As a result, the applicability of the proposed optical system was revealed experimentally. Furthermore, the cause of the random measurement error is discussed briefly.

Electrically tunable polarisation-independent blue-phase liquid crystal binary phase grating via phase-separated composite films

ABSTRACTA simple method for fabricating polarisation-independent blue-phase liquid crystal phase grating is demonstrated by implementing photopolymerisation-induced phase separation through a binary photomask. The dynamic focusing property of the proposed liquid crystal grating is independent of the polarisation state of incident light. The efficiency of various diffraction orders for the phase grating was measured as a function of the applied voltage. Experimental results show that the maximum diffraction efficiency reaches 36% for the ±1 order, which approaches the theoretical limit ~41%. The measured rise time is 1.4 ms and fall time is 2.2 ms. Such a tunable grating has great potential for photonic applications.

3A12 高分子アゾベンゼン液晶の光誘起配向変化を利用した偏光回折格子形成(フォトニクス・光デバイス)

3A12 高分子アゾベンゼン液晶の光誘起配向変化を利用した偏光回折格子形成(フォトニクス・光デバイス)

Photoinitiation and Inhibition under Monochromatic Green Light for Storage of Colored 3D Images in Holographic Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystals.

Holographic photopolymer composites have garnered a great deal of interest in recent decades, not only because of their advantageous light sensitivity but also due to their attractive capabilities of realizing high capacity three-dimensional (3D) data storage that is long-term stable within two-dimensional (2D) thin films. For achieving high performance holographic photopolymer composites, it is of critical importance to implement precisely spatiotemporal control over the photopolymerization kinetics and gelation during holographic recording. Though a monochromatic blue light photoinitibitor has been demonstrated to be useful for improving the holographic performance, it is impractical to be employed for constructing holograms under green light due to the severe restriction of the First Law of Photochemistry, while holography under green light is highly desirable considering the relatively low cost of laser source and high tolerance to ambient vibration for image reconstruction. Herein, we disclose the concurrent photoinitiation and inhibition functions of the rose bengal (RB)/N-phenylglycine (NPG) system upon green light illumination, which result in significant enhancement of the diffraction efficiency of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) gratings from zero up to 87.6 ± 1.3%, with an augmentation of the RB concentration from 0.06 × 10-3 to 9.41 × 10-3 mol L-1. Interestingly, no detectable variation of the ϕ1/2kp/kt1/2, which reflects the initiation efficiency and kinetic constants, is given when increasing the RB concentration. The radical inhibition by RBH• is believed to account for the greatly improved phase separation and enhanced diffraction efficiency, through shortening the weight-average polymer chain length and subsequently delaying the photopolymerization gelation. The reconstructed colored 3D images that are easily identifiable to the naked eye under white light demonstrate great potential to be applied for advanced anticounterfeiting.

液晶光栅自干涉测量空间光调制器相位调制特性

液晶光栅自干涉测量空间光调制器相位调制特性

Enhancement of conversion efficiency for an organic semiconductor laser based on a holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal

In this paper, we report a high-conversion-efficiency organic semiconductor distributed feedback laser. The gain layer of the laser device is made from poly (2-methoxy-5-(20-ethylhexyloxy) p-phenyl-enevinylene) (MEH-PPV), and the holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) grating is used as the external light feedback layer. Thus the parameters of the laser device can be modulated independently. The solution of MEH-PPV in xylene (6 mg·mL-1) is deposited on the bottom glass substrate by spin-coating (2000 r/min). The MEH-PPV layer thickness is controlled at (80±2) nm by the spin-coating rate and confirmed by the Dektak profilometer. The HPDLC is made by the photo-induced phase separation method. To determine the orientations of LC molecules, the diffraction efficiency of each sample is measured by a He-Ne laser. The diffraction efficiency is defined as the diffracted light intensity in the first order divided by the incident light intensity. If p light diffraction efficiency (ηp) is much larger (smaller) than s light diffraction efficiency (ηs), it can be thought of as a symbol of a fairly good alignment of LC along the grating vector (grating grooves). When the period of HPDLC grating is larger than 450 nm, ηp is greater than ηs, and the averaged orientation of liquid crystal molecules is aligned along the grating vector direction, i.e., orthogonal to the holographic plane. For feedback light propagating along the grating vector, the refractive index modulation is dependent on the difference between the polymer refractive index np and the ordinary refractive index no of phase-separated LC. These two values are very close to each other, thus the effective light feedback for lasing output is not high. However, when the period of HPDLC grating is smaller than 450 nm, ηs is greater than ηp, and the orientation of phase-separated LC is altered. The refractive index modulation of feedback light originates from the difference between the polymer refractive index np and the extraordinary refractive index ne of phase-separated LC, thus the refractive index modulation can be improved and the HPDLC layer can provide better light feedback. The lasing threshold is 0.70 μJ/pulse, and the conversion efficiency is 2.5% for the sample with a grating period of 593 nm. However, the lasing threshold is lowered to 0.18 μJ/pulse, and the conversion efficiency increases to 6.4% for the sample with a grating period of 395 nm. These results show that the output lasing performance can be improved by using small period grating, since it has bigger refractive index in the grating vector direction (the lasing feedback direction). The laser performance of sample with small grating period is improved in some aspects such as threshold energy, conversion efficiency to some extent compared with those reported previously.

Liquid-crystal-grating-based optical displacement sensors.

The optical properties of liquid crystal (LC) gratings with a mobile glass substrate, which can be used for optical displacement applications, were investigated. LC gratings are composed of homogeneous and twisted nematic domains. The displacement measurement principle is based on the change in diffraction efficiency induced by varying the mixing ratio of two orientation domains, in response to the lateral shift of the mobile substrate. Improved conditions for the polarization direction of incident light, as well as the application of voltage for achieving higher sensitivities, were explored. A simple demonstration of an LC-grating-based displacement sensor was also conducted.

Transient holographic grating in azo-dye-doped liquid crystals with off-resonant light

ABSTRACTHolographic gratings in nematic liquid crystals doped with Disperse Red 1 (DR1) were investigated using a linearly polarised He–Ne laser. Although the electric transitions of the samples were almost off-resonant, the diffraction of the transient holographic grating was found to exhibit a sinusoidal feature with changing the polarisation of recording beams, and the diffraction intensities and response time of the gratings were strongly dependent on DR1 concentration. The results revealed that the diffraction of holographic grating depends on the rate of trans–cis isomerisation of DR1 molecules. Moreover, the temperature dependence of diffraction indicated that the grating formation mechanism was attributed to photoinduced reorientation of photoisomerisation effect.

Cholesteric gratings induced by electric field in mixtures of liquid crystal and novel chiral ionic liquid

ABSTRACTFormation of gratings upon alternating electric field in compositions of highly birefringent liquid crystal (LC) with novel chiral ionic liquid (CIL) enclosed in 10-µm-thick cells is studied. The compatibility of two organic components of the mixture is investigated. The grating is formed in 1–5% CIL mixtures and causes significant changes of the transmission of polarised light through the cells. Transmission of polarised λ = 633 nm light through the 5% CIL sample is studied with respect to frequency (1 Hz–3 MHz) and amplitude (up to 10 V) of alternating voltage and the results are used for sketch a voltage–frequency phase diagram. Two possible ways of formation of the gratings with perpendicular orientation to that formed from initial state are presented. Two twisting axes in the molecular alignments of the cholesteric LC gratings with perpendicular directions are proposed. Optical switch based on four different states of LC including two gratings with perpendicular directions is proposed. Moreover, behaviour of the rotation of a grating induced by AC field in hybrid planar-homeotropic cell is studied in two frequency regimes and rotation by more than 90° upon change of the AC field amplitude is observed.

Polymer network liquid crystal grating/Fresnel lens fabricated by holography

ABSTRACTIn this article, polymer network liquid crystal (PNLC) grating/Fresnel lens is fabricated by holography. The exposure light pattern for the grating is obtained by interfering two planar wave fronts, while the Fresnel pattern is achieved by interfering a planar wave front and a spherical wave front. Owing to the alignment effect and anchoring power of polymer network, the holographic PNLC grating achieves improved diffraction efficiency, and remarkably reduced operation voltage (reduced by 80%) compared with holographic polymer-dispersed-liquid-crystal and holographic polymer-stabilised blue-phase liquid-crystal gratings, while maintaining submillisecond response. Moreover, it achieves high spatial frequency with a 2-μm grating period, thanks to the holographic fabrication. The holographic PNLC Fresnel lens also exhibits attractive electro-optical properties.

Large-aperture, wide-angle nonmechanical beam steering using polarization gratings

Liquid crystal polarization gratings (LCPGs) represent a relatively new technology capable of nonmechanically and efficiently steering light over a large field-of-regard in discrete steps. Due to their reliance on thin liquid crystal cells instead of mechanical moving parts, LCPG beam steering systems are attractive options for steering both active and passive optical sensors, especially in size, weight, and power (SWaP)-constrained platforms. This paper describes recent developments in large-aperture LCPG steering systems and summarizes the performance being achieved.

Controllable liquid crystal gratings for an adaptive 2D/3D auto-stereoscopic display

2D/3D switchable, viewpoint controllable and 2D/3D localizable auto-stereoscopic displays based on controllable liquid crystal gratings are proposed in this work. Using the dual-layer staggered structure on the top substrate and bottom substrate as driven electrodes within a liquid crystal cell, the ratio between transmitting region and shielding region can be selectively controlled by the corresponding driving circuit, which indicates that 2D/3D switch and 3D video sources with different disparity images can reveal in the same auto-stereoscopic display system. Furthermore, the controlled region in the liquid crystal gratings presents 3D model while other regions maintain 2D model in the same auto-stereoscopic display by the corresponding driving circuit. This work demonstrates that the controllable liquid crystal gratings have potential applications in the field of auto-stereoscopic display.

Full-color reflectance-tunable filter based on liquid crystal cladded guided-mode resonant grating.

This work proposes a tunable reflective guided-mode resonant (GMR) filter that incorporates a 90° twisted nematic liquid crystal (TNLC). The GMR grating acts as an optical resonator that reflects strongly at the resonance wavelength and as an alignment layer for LC. The 90° TNLC functions as an achromic polarization rotator that alters the polarization of incident light. The resonance wavelength and reflectance of such a filter can be controlled by setting the angle of incidence and driving the 90° TNLC, respectively. The designed filter exhibits a very large spectral shift in resonance wavelength from 710 to 430 nm, which covers the entire visible spectrum. The transmittance can be tuned to within 10 V at various resonance wavelengths. The hybrid GMR - LC filter is compact, has a simple design, and is easy to fabricated. It can therefore be used in practical applications.

P-139: Polymer Network Liquid Crystal Grating Cured with Interfered Visible Light

In this paper, we report a polymer network liquid crystal grating fabricated using interfered visible light. Exposed to the periodic light pattern, polymer concentration gradient is achieved as the precursor is cured. The grating is simple to fabricate and has low voltage, sub-millisecond response and high spatial resolution.

A switchable circular polarizer based on zenithal bistable liquid crystal gratings

A switchable circular polarizer for infrared telecom wavelengths based on zenithal bistable liquid crystal gratings is designed and investigated by employing the finite-element method for the study of full-wave light propagation and a tensorial formulation for the liquid crystal orientation. The handedness of the output circular polarization can be selected by switching between the two stable states of the liquid-crystal grating. Analysis of the spectral dependence and the tolerance of the polarizer’s performance with respect to deviations from the optimized geometry reveals the robustness of its polarizing properties, which stems from the non-resonant nature of its operation.