Electrically controlled anisotropic liquid crystal waveguides
Abstract
In this paper the technology to generate the electrically controlled anisotropic liquid crystal (LC) waveguide structures based on the interface between two LC regions differing in the director orientations is put forward. Thin-film nematic LC waveguide elements with the adjustable parameters have been developed; the features of excitation of the light-field waveguide mode propagation in such elements have been demonstrated experimentally. Using computer simulation, the electrostatic field configuration, LC director orientation, changes in the refractive index, propagation of laser beams in the LC waveguide elements have been computed. The propagation constants and the transverse field distribution for the guided modes in LC waveguide structures have been calculated by the numerical methods at different control voltages and LC layer thicknesses making it possible to establish the formation conditions for the electrically controlled LC waveguide structure.
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