Liquid crystal-based polarization-dependent, electrically tunable beam deflectors formed via single-step photopolymerization-induced phase separation.

Abstract

Compared to mechanical ones, liquid crystal (LC) beam deflectors present several advantages, such as non-mechanical control, compactness, and low power consumption, making them a viable alternative. In this work, we demonstrate an LC-based polarization-dependent, electrically tunable beam deflector, which is a composite blazed grating fabricated using a single-step photopolymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) technique. We investigated the effect of different factors on the performance of the deflector, including the thickness of the upper substrate, the grating period, and the cell gap. The prepared sample demonstrated a diffraction angle of 2°6', and a diffraction efficiency of 40.0%. Unlike previous ones, our proposed fabrication technique for the LC beam deflector provides many benefits, such as simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and large-area production.