Haze reduction in concentric electrode-based large aperture liquid crystal lens with segmented phase profile

Abstract

Abstract. In the field of augmented reality/virtual reality head-mounted displays or eyeglasses, electro-optical tunable lenses have great potential to resolve the issue of accommodation-convergence conflicts and to correct vision problems. A high-quality tunable lens with a large field of view is highly desired for these near-to-eye applications. Recently, gradient refractive index tunable liquid crystal lenses with a concentric ring electrode design and segmented phase profile have received attention due to their compactness, low-voltage requirement, and ability to provide a large aperture size while maintaining a fast-switching speed. However, this design can result in degradation of optical quality, causing haze from the phase reset boundaries and electrode discontinuity. We analyze the cause of haze and presents solutions to reduce these effects, and we experimentally validate them.