Poster Session: Geometric phase multifocal ophthalmic lenses for presbyopics.

A lens that makes use of polarization modulation to alter the geometric phase of light is being studied as a promising optical element for presbyopia. The lens is formed with liquid crystals grating structures act as a converging lens for right-handed circularly polarized light and a diverging lens for left-handed circularly polarized light resulting in positive and negative defocus for unpolarized incident light. Integrating a higher focal length geometric phase lens with a shorter converging lens creates bifocality. The geometric phase ophthalmic lenses can provide improved visual outcomes without undesired cosmesis effects. We demonstrate that such lenses can be a prominent alternative to multifocal lenses for presbyopics. We evaluate its applicability using wave optics analysis with a model eye to determine its pros and cons.