High-efficiency, tunable, fringe-field switching-mode beam steering based on a liquid crystal Pancharatnam phase

We have fabricated, characterized, and analyzed a recently proposed non-mechanical beam steering device based on the Pancharatnam-Berry phase in a liquid crystal. The architecture of our proposed device employs a linear array of phase control elements (PCEs) to locally control the orientation of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied optics (2004) 2020-12, Vol.59 (34), p.10706
Main Authors: Yousefzadeh, Comrun, Van Rynbach, Andre, Bryant, Doug, Bos, Philip
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Beam steering
Crystal structure
Efficiency
Electric fields
Linear arrays
Liquid crystals
Optimization
Phase control
Switching
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Summary:We have fabricated, characterized, and analyzed a recently proposed non-mechanical beam steering device based on the Pancharatnam-Berry phase in a liquid crystal. The architecture of our proposed device employs a linear array of phase control elements (PCEs) to locally control the orientation of the liquid crystal director into a cycloidal pattern to deflect transmitted light. The PCEs are comprised of a fringe-field switching electrode structure that can provide a variable in-plane electric field. Detailed optimization of the director configuration is in a good agreement with experimental results showing that the half-wave retardation condition has been uniformly achieved across the aperture. Moreover, efficiency simulations using a finite-difference time-domain algorithm verify a high beam steering efficiency for the proposed device.
ISSN:1559-128X
2155-3165
DOI:10.1364/AO.404603