Fast-response Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical elements based on polymer-stabilized liquid crystal

Abstract

In this paper we demonstrate fast-response Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phase optical elements (PBOEs) based on polymer-stabilized liquid crystal (PSLC). First, a non-interferometric photo-alignment technique is employed to generate PB patterns in a dye-doped liquid crystal by green laser light. Then the samples are exposed to UV light to form polymer networks. Due to the greatly increased elastic constant in PSLC, all PBOEs can achieve submillisecond response time, while maintaining high diffraction efficiency (>90%). Furthermore, a varifocus PB lens (PBL) is implemented based on two identical PB lens elements and its application in fatigue free augmented-reality (AR) displays is verified. The fast response PBOEs based on PSLC hold great potential for various display and photonics applications.