We demonstrate a tunable phase grating using a polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal. Because of the electric-field-induced rectangularlike phase profile, a high diffraction efficiency of 40% is achieved. Moreover, this device shows submillisecond response time. The proposed tunable phase grating holds great potential for photonics and display applications.

We propose a new microlens device structure using two polymerstabilized blue phase liquid crystal layers whose Kerr constant is largely different. Such a polarization independent microlens has a simple structure and desired parabolic phase profile. Its applications for 2D/3D switchable displays and other photonic devices are emphasized.

The voltage transfer function is a rapid and visually effective method to determine the electrical response of liquid crystal (LC) systems using optical measurements. This method relies on crosspolarized intensity measurements as a function of the frequency and amplitude of the voltage applied to the device. Coupled with a mathematical model of the device it can be used to determine the device ...

A high speed phase modulator based on ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) is demonstrated. For uniform alignment and pure phase modulation, we propose a new FLC device using a short helical pitch material in a homeotropic alignment. This device is driven by periodic in-plane electrode stripes implemented on the surface of both cell substrates. As a result, we have obtained a large phase modulati...

The term liquid crystal describes a fluid in which geometrical structure of individual molecules can induce a tendency to align in certain ways with other molecules or with external magnetic or electric fields or with container boundaries. The degree and nature of molecular alignment strongly influences the optical properties of the liquid crystal, a phenomenon that lies at the heart of the cur...

We propose a single cell gap vertical-alignment transflective LCD with patterned electrodes using a positive dielectric anisotropic liquid crystal. As compared to prior attempts using a positive LC in VA configurations, our new design significantly reduces the threshold and on-state voltages to a range reachable by portable electronic displays. In addition, the light efficiency is also enhanced...

We demonstrated a novel optical switch with a reconfigurable dielectric liquid droplet. The device consists of a clear liquid droplet (glycerol) surrounded by a black liquid (dye-doped liquid crystal). In the voltage-off state, the incident light passing through the clear liquid droplet is absorbed by the black liquid, resulting in a dark state. In the voltage-on state, the dome of the clear li...

This paper will present recent technological advances in the field of replicated, microstructured plastic optics, and their applications in display optics. A number of technology areas will be discussed, including moth-eye Antireflective MicrostructureTM, High Precision Molding (HPM), high temperature polymers, and one-piece, diffusive imaging screens. Applications discussed will include field ...

In the experimental study, we measured visibility and readability of text characters presented on a small 3D liquid crystal display (LCD) and evaluated features of the 3D character representation for application to mobile devices. For the visibility evaluation, we focused on time lag for first recognition, time required for full reading, and maximum distance of 3D objects popping out from the f...

A spatial light modulator (SLM) is a device that can impress information on an optical wave front. An electrically addressed SLM translates information from the electronic domain to the optical domain. The applications for SLM's are numerous; they inciude coherent optical processing applications, data routing, data input to optical processing systems, and information display. Spatial light modu...