18.4: Low Fill-Factor Wire Grid Polarizers for LCD Backlighting

Abstract

Design rules for wire grid polarizers, used as polarizing beamsplitters and reflective polarizers for polarization recycling, are found to be different. Wire grid polarizers with low fill factors of ~0.18-0.25 are found to be more efficient in polarization recycling than regular polarizers with fill factors of ~0.4-0.6.

P-168: Simulation of Sub-100nm Gratings Incorporated in LCD Stack

“…This approach has inherent limitations in defining the geometry of the gratings. Similar limitations were also found in software code GSOLVER used for optimization of a simple lamellar grating for a polarization recycling in an LCD backlight [2]. The new approach developed here simulates the propagation of incident monochromatic plane wave in anisotropic layered medium, which includes homogenous biaxial layers and planar metal-dielectric or dielectric grating.…”

“…Wire-grid polarizers (WGP) and other grating components play an important role in modern high resolution LCD optics [1,2]. In particular, WGPs have been used: as polarizing beamsplitters and analyzers in projection displays and as reflective polarizers for polarization recycling.…”

Designing multilayered wire‐grid polarizers using a monochromatic recursive convolution finite‐difference time‐domain algorithm

“…The wire‐grid polarizers (WGP) are studied extensively for application in liquid crystal display (LCD) devices . WGPs are zero‐order, subwavelength metal gratings and are highly efficient polarizers.…”

“…Metallic waveguide theory and finite element method is used to design WGPs meant for liquid crystal on silicon systems . The study of Mi et al and Paukshto use a modal analysis and a differential theory of diffraction gratings, respectively, to simulate WGPs used in liquid crystal on silicon microdisplays. In the study of Lifeng, recursive, stable matrix algorithms were developed for multilayered grating simulations.…”

“…The wire-grid polarizers (WGP) are studied extensively for application in liquid crystal display (LCD) devices. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] WGPs are zero-order, subwavelength metal gratings and are highly efficient polarizers. When a WGP is illuminated with unpolarized light, it transmits the component of light polarized in the TM mode (electric field perpendicular to the grating ridges) and reflects the component of light polarized in the transverse electric (TE) mode (electric field parallel to the grating ridges).…”