Transflective liquid-crystal display using low-twisted vertically aligned mode

We present the design of a transflective and low-power LCD using a low-twist vertically aligned liquid crystal (LC) cell, achieved by blending a chiral additive with a patterned reflector in a single-domain configuration. Unlike the conventional single-domain transflective LCD, in which it is possible to optimize only one of the transmissive and reflective regions, the device suggests that it is possible to optimize both the transmission and reflection design to obtain favorable results in both reflective and transmissive light conditions by optimizing the chiral pitch and twist angle. From the parameter space diagram (PSD) method, which does not include the information on chiral pitch and the nonuniform LC director tilt angle, optimization focused on the transmissive region is performed. By analyzing the relation between the transmittance and the chiral pitch under the applied voltage, the optimized twist angle and chiral pitch are proposed. It is described that the optimized twist angle is also available for the reflective region by the dynamic PSD method by considering the average tilt angle under applied voltage.     

Electro- and magneto-optical switching of defect modes in one- dimensional photonic crystals

The transmission spectra of polarized light waves in a photonic crystal/liquid crystal (PC/LC) cell placed between crossed polarizers and controlled by an electric or magnetic field have been studied experimentally and theoretically. Electro- and magneto-optical switching based on the interference of polarized defect modes has been demonstrated. The transmission spectra of the PC/LC cell have been calculated as a function of the voltage applied to the LC layer and the magnetic field strength. The results of the calculations agree well with the experimental data.     

Liquid-crystal adaptive lenses with modal control

We report on a novel approach to the realization of nematic liquid-crystal (LC) phase correctors to form spherical and cylindrical wave fronts. A LC cell with a distributed reactive electrical impedance was driven by an ac voltage applied to the cell boundary to yield the desired spatial distribution of the refractive index. The two-dimensional function of the phase delay introduced into the light beam depends on the frequency of the ac control voltage, the geometry of the boundary electrode surrounding the LC cell, and the electrical parameters of the cell. We realized a cylindrical adaptive lens with a clear aperture of 15 mm x 4mm and a spherical adaptive lens with circular aperture of 6.5 mm. Both devices are capable of focusing collimated light in the range infinity...0.5 m.     

Full prediction of the broadband optical modulation performance of a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell

We present a procedure to obtain the physical parameters responsible of twisted nematic liquid crystal (LC) cells optical modulation. The novelty of our approach is based on the use of spectroscopic measurements of the light transmitted by the system polarizer-LC cell-analyzer, combined with a previously proposed simple physical model of the LC twist and tilt distribution along cell. The procedure involves two steps: the first one yields off-state parameters like the LC director orientation, the twist angle, and the optical path difference (cell gap); the second step yields the effective retardances of the central and edge LC layers. The use of a spectroscopic method provides a full characterization of the LC cell as a function of both the voltage and the wavelength. The complete procedure leads to a very accurate prediction of the transmitted light broadband spectrum, as well as the complex (amplitude and phase) modulation for any wavelength within the calibration range.     

Rayleigh wave scattering from a vertical edge of isotropic substrates

The paper numerically studies the harmonic Rayleigh wave scattering at the 90-degree corner of isotropic substrate. The finite element method is used. The main attention is paid to two cases. The first one is the apex of the substrate corner is rounded off. The second one consists in that a layer of foreign material is deposited on the face which scatters the Rayleigh wave. The dependence of the reflection and the transmission coefficients on the Poisson ratio, the angle of incidence, the fillet radius, and the layer thickness are obtained. It is found that if the Rayleigh wave is incident perpendicularly to the substrate border, then the fillet of small radius as compared to the wavelength increases the reflection coefficient and decreases the transmission coefficient by factors 1.3–1.8. At normal incidence, the Poisson ratio does not change qualitatively the dependence of the reflection and transmission coefficients on the fillet radius. But the Poisson ratio can substantially affect the angle dependence of these coefficients if the wave is incident obliquely on the corner rounded off. It is also found out that a layer can modify the conditions of scattering such that the incident wave is totally reflected without transmission and conversion into bulk waves in a wide interval of angle of incidence, although, in principle, the bulk wave generation is allowed within a part of this angle interval.     

Coherent transmission and angular structure of light scattering by monolayer films of polymer dispersed liquid crystals with inhomogeneous boundary conditions

We consider monolayer polymer films with oriented droplets of a nematic liquid crystal (LC). Relations for the coherent transmission coefficients of a layer of oriented ellipsoidal droplets and for the intensity of light scattered by monolayers of spherical and spheroidal droplets have been obtained. The amplitude-phase screen model and the interference approximation of the theory of multiple wave scattering have been used. To describe light scattering by an individual ellipsoidal droplet with inhomogeneous surface binding, we have developed an anomalous diffraction approximation. For monolayers of spherical LC droplets, the coherent scattering coefficients and the angular scattering structure have been analyzed. The internal structure of nematic droplets have been calculated by the relaxation method based on the solution of the minimization problem of the free energy volume density. We have studied basic regular features of light scattering by a monolayer with homogeneous and inhomogeneous boundary conditions at the LC-polymer interface. We show that, for films that contain droplets with inhomogeneous boundary conditions of the tangentially normal type, the angular structure of the scattered light is asymmetric with respect to the polar scattering angle.     

Optically switchable, polarization-independent holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (H-PDLC) gratings

An optically switchable, polarization-independent holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal (H-PDLC) transmission grating is demonstrated by adding azobenzene-LC and chiral molecules into the H-PDLC formulation. The optical switchable mechanism is from the trans-cis photoisomerization of the doped azobenzene-LC, which modulates the refractive index of the LC rich area. The dependence of the diffraction efficiency of the H-DPLC grating without chiral molecules on light polarization suggests that the orientation of LC directors within the droplet is ellipsoidal and uniaxial. However, the addition of chiral molecules into the H-PDLC formulation helps the formation of isotropic and non-uniaxial LC directors within the droplets. The polarization properties of the grating are investigated and analyzed by the coupled and modified coupled wave theory with a model of sinusoidal dielectric modulation. The results show that the addition of chiral molecules changes the LC phase from nematic to chiral-nematic, where the grating efficiency, which is modulated by the photoinduced phase transition, is independent of the polarization of incident light. Our findings may help improve optical systems that utilize non-polarized light.     

One-dimensional photonic crystals with a planar oriented nematic layer: Temperature and angular dependence of the spectra of defect modes

Transmission spectra of a one-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) formed by two multilayer dielectric mirrors and a planar oriented layer of 5CB nematic liquid crystal (LC) that is sandwiched between these mirrors and serves as a structure defect are investigated experimentally. Specific features of the behavior of the spectrum of defect modes as a function of the angle of incidence of light on the crystal are studied for two polarizations: parallel and perpendicular to the director of the LC; the director either lies in the plane of incidence or is perpendicular to it. It is shown that, for the configurations considered, the maxima of the defect modes shift toward the short-wavelength region as the tilt angle of incidence radiation increases; this tendency is more manifest for the parallel-polarized component, when the director lies in the plane of incidence. In the latter case, the width of the photonic band gap (PBG) appreciably decreases. The temperature dependence of the polarization components of the transmission spectra of a PC is investigated in the case of normal incidence of light. The spectral shift of defect modes due to the variation of the refractive index of the LC at the nematic-isotropic liquid phase transition point is measured. It is shown that, in real PCs, the amplitude of defect modes decreases when approaching the center of the band gap, as well as when the number of layers in the dielectric mirrors increases. Theoretical transmission spectra of the PCs calculated by the method of recurrence relations with regard to the decay of defect modes are in good agreement with experimental data.     

电光调制器的温度特性及其最优化设计

利用线性电光效应的波耦合理论对铌酸锂晶体电光调制器的温度特性进行研究,给出了不同光波波矢和晶体光轴夹角情况下电光效应的温度变化特性,发现可以利用角度调节来克服电光调制器的温度敏感性;在此基础上,进一步对电光调制器进行了最优化设计,得到一个半波电压小(几十伏)、零场泄漏几乎为零(零电压出射光强和入射光强比为0．0027)、消光比达到365．6、温度性能稳定而且不需要透明电极的一个设计。     

Study on the algorithm of computational ghost imaging based on discrete fourier transform measurement matrix

We have developed a model and realized an algorithm for the calculation of the coefficient of coherent (direct) transmission of light through a layer of liquid crystal (LC) droplets in a polymer matrix. The model is based on the Hulst anomalous diffraction approximation for describing the scattering by an individual particle and the Foldy-Twersky approximation for a coherent field. It allows one to investigate polymer dispersed LC (PDLC) materials with homogeneous and inhomogeneous interphase surface anchoring on the droplet surface. In order to calculate the configuration of the field of the local director in the droplet, the relaxation method of solving the problem of minimization of the free energy volume density has been used. We have verified the model by comparison with experiment under the inverse regime of the ionic modification of the LC-polymer interphase boundary. The model makes it possible to solve problems of optimization of the optical response of PDLC films in relation to their thickness and optical characteristics of the polymer matrix, sizes, polydispersity, concentration, and anisometry parameters of droplets. Based on this model, we have proposed a technique for estimating the size of LC droplets from the data on the dependence of the transmission coefficient on the applied voltage.     

Two-dimensional cell parameters measurement of nematic liquid crystal using optical interferometry and Fourier transform fringe analysis technique

We report a method for the measurement of nematic liquid crystal (NLC) cell parameters i.e., switching voltage, birefringence, retardation, dielectric anisotropy, average tilt angle and change in refractive index with applied DC voltage to LC material. The proposed method is based on optical interferometry and Fourier transform fringe analysis technique, in which we obtain 2-dimensional (2D) phase map of the interferograms as a function of applied voltage. Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) was used for the study of cell parameters and interferograms were recorded at different applied DC voltages to NLC cell using CCD camera. From the phase map, 2D-refractive index distribution of the LC cell with applied voltage was reconstructed. Analytical equations are derived based on optical interferometry and then solved to obtain cell parameters. The present method is fast and can give 2D-cell parameters from only two quick interferograms.     

Photonic properties of metallic-mean quasiperiodic chains

The light propagation through a stack of two media with different refractive indices, which are aligned according to different quasiperiodic sequences determined by metallic means, is studied using the transfer matrix method. The focus lies on the investigation of the influence of the underlying quasiperiodic sequence as well as the dependence of the transmission on the frequency, the incidence angle of the light wave and different ratios of the refractive indices. In contrast to a periodically aligned stack we find complete transmission for the quasiperiodic systems for a wide range of different refractive indices for small incidence angles. Additional bands of moderate transmission occur for frequencies in the range of the photonic band gaps of the periodic system. Further, for fixed indices of refraction we find a range of almost perfect transmission for angles close to the angle of total reflection, which is caused by the bending of photonic transmission bands towards higher frequencies for increasing incidence angles. Comparing with the results of a periodic stack the quasiperiodicity seems to have only an influence in the region around the midgap frequency of a periodic stack.     

一种液晶透镜盒间隙的测试方法

针对当前液晶透镜盒间隙测试存在的难题, 文中提出采用线偏振干涉法测试方法, 采用光强均匀分布的单色光入射, 检偏器的偏光轴方向与起偏器的偏光轴垂直或者平行, 液晶透镜的液晶取向层的摩擦方向与起偏器偏振轴夹角为45°, 此时干涉条纹亮暗差别最明显. 利用液晶透镜中心保持预倾角不变的透过率以及其他位置透过率最大值来计算液晶透镜的盒间隙, 该方法简单、可靠, 因采用光学手段测试, 其精确度相对较高. 关键词： 液晶透镜 盒间隙 线偏振光干涉 透过率     

液晶电控双折射率与电压关系的研究

对向列相液晶BL-009作了电控双折射特性的研究。实验上采用简单、精确的偏光干涉法，利用岛津UV-3101PC型分光光度计，在入射光波长为630nm时，测出了液晶的透射率随交流电压的有效值和频率的变化曲线，从而得到液晶电控双折射率随电压的有效值和频率变化曲线。分析实验数据，可知液晶的电控双折射率随电压有效值的升高成一阶指数下降，而且，随电压频率的升高，在一定的范围内基本成线性下降。此实验结果对液晶器件的设计、制作、使用都具有一定的参考价值。     

Simple system for evaluating retardation of liquid crystal cells using grating type liquid crystal polarization splitters

We propose a unique optical system for measuring the retardation of birefringent films using a pair of liquid crystal (LC) gratings; that is, the examined birefringent films are inserted between two LC gratings. Because the LC grating functions as a polarization beam splitter for circularly polarized light, the proposed system is optically equivalent to the measurement system using a pair of two circular polarizers. First, the polarization splitting performance of the LC grating is discussed. It is found that a sufficiently high voltage (such that the retardation is less than a half wavelength) has to be applied for the almost pure circularly polarized diffracted light. Next, the measurement of the retardation of a homogeneous LC cell as an examined birefringent film was demonstrated using the proposed method. The proposed method is revealed to have the same measurement performance as that of the conventional method using a pair of linear polarizers and has an advantage that there is no need for the optic axis of the test birefringent specimen to be set at a specific angle.     

一维液晶光子晶体透射谱的研究

一维液晶光子晶体在光滤波器、低阈值激光器和光开关等领域有着很好的应用前景。研究了一维液晶光子晶体的透射谱,电压范围在0～10V内,光谱调谐范围约为50nm,透射峰半高宽为18nm,禁带宽度近400nm。进一步提出了非偏振光型液晶光子晶体,设计了相互垂直0°扭曲取向的双液晶层一维液晶光子晶体器件。双液晶层起到了对各向偏振光光程的补偿作用,使得禁带中的两个透射峰合并为一个透射峰,加强了光强度,增强了滤波性能。     

Electric field effect on refraction of light in a layer of chiral liquid crystal with large pitch

The effect of an alternating electric field on the trajectory of an extraordinary light wave in a layer of a chiral liquid crystal with a 180° turn of the director is studied. In this structure, in the absence of the field and at a large angle of incidence of the light wave on the liquid crystal layer, the light undergoes refraction inside the layer. It is shown that the deformation of the director that arises under the action of the electric field changes the character of refraction of the extraordinary wave and the layer begins to transmit the light. The threshold voltage of this effect is determined. The dynamics of the effect is studied. At large voltages, in addition to the extraordinary wave, an ordinary light wave is observed in the light passed through the cell. The ordinary wave intensity is modulated by the initial frequency of the control signal, whereas the extraordinary wave intensity is modulated by the double initial frequency.     

太赫兹波在一维反铁磁/电介质准周期光子晶体的传输性质

本文利用传递矩阵方法研究了电磁波倾斜入射时,一维反铁磁/电介质准周期光子晶体的透射性质.反铁磁层和电介质层按Fibonacci数列排列构成准周期光子晶体.通过数值模拟发现光子禁带中有透射峰出现, 而且随着准周期光子晶体级数的增加透射峰的数目也在增加.此外,透射峰受电介质层的介电常数、入射角度和电磁波偏振影响明显. 关键词： 反铁磁层 准周期光子晶体 太赫兹波传输性质     

Terahertz electrically controlled nematic liquid crystal lens

We report some preliminary results on the realization of terahertz (THz) nematic liquid crystal (LC) lens with electric tunable focal length. A LC cell with a single circular-hole electrode is driven by an AC voltage to yield the desired spatial distribution of the refractive index. The two-dimensional function of the phase delay introduced into THz wave depends on the AC voltage and the electrodes contacting the LC layer. This lens is operated at room temperature and its convergent optical characteristic is demonstrated at 118 μm. We realize the lens with a clear aperture of 1 mm. The lens matched with a bolometer array is capable of obtaining real-time THz images of a sample without any mechanical scanning.     

Magneto and Electro-Optic Intensity Modulator Based on Liquid Crystal and Magnetic Fluid Filled Photonic Crystal Fiber

We propose a novel light intensity modulator based on magnetic fluid and liquid crystal(LC) filled photonic crystal fibers(PCFs). The influences of electric and magnetic fields on the transmission intensity are theoretically and experimentally analyzed and investigated. Both the electric and magnetic fields can manipulate the molecular arrangement of LC to array a certain angle without changing the refractive index of the LC. Therefore, light loss in the PCF varies with the electric and magnetic fields whereas the peak wavelengths remain constant. The experimental results show that the transmission intensity decreases with the increase of the electric and magnetic fields. The cut-off electric field is 0.899 V/um at 20 Hz and the cut-off magnetic field is 195 m T. This simple and compacted optical modulator will have a great prospect in sensing applications.