Ultrafast Photoalignment: Recording a Lens in a Nanosecond

Crystals

Timothy J. Bunning¹  Nelson V. Tabiryan²  Svetlana V. Serak² 

[1] Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433, USA;BEAM Engineering for Advanced Measurements Co., 1300 Lee Rd., Orlando, FL 32810, USA;

关键词: photoalignment;    diffractive waveplates;    liquid crystals;    liquid crystal polymers;    flat lenses;    diffractive optics;    geometrical phase optics;   

DOI  :  10.3390/cryst7110338

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Liquid crystals can be photoaligned with a single nanosecond pulse acting on thin photoanisotropic coatings on the cell substrates. This phenomenon was demonstrated for pulses of 532 nm and 355 nm wavelengths (second and the third harmonics of a Nd:YAG laser). Direct printing of liquid crystal cycloidal diffractive waveplates and diffractive waveplate lenses characterized by high spatial frequencies required only a mJ energy. The liquid crystal alignment dynamics reveal a fast component related to photoalignment of molecules within the photoanisotropic layer and a slower component related to alignment of the liquid crystal within the cell.

【 授权许可】

Unknown