A polarization-independent liquid crystal phase modulation using polymer-network liquid crystals in a 90° twisted cell

A polarization-independent liquid crystal phase modulation using polymer-network liquid crystals in a 90 degrees twisted cell (T-PNLC) is demonstrated. T-PNLC consists of three layers. Liquid crystal (LC) directors in the two layers near glass substrates are orthogonal to each other and those two layers modulate two eigen-polarizations of an incident light. As a result, two eigen-polarizations of an incident light experience the same phase shift. In the middle layer, LC directors are perpendicular to the glass substrate and contribute no phase shift. The phase shift of T-PNLC is electrically tunable and polarization-independent. T-PNLC does not require any bias voltage for operation. The phase shift is 0.28 pi rad for the voltage of 30 V-rms. By measuring and analyzing the optical phase shift of T-PNLC at the oblique incidence of transverse magnetic wave, the pretilt angle of LC directors and the effective thickness of three layers are obtained and discussed. The potential applications are spatial light modulators, laser beam steering, and micro-lens arrays. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4737260]