High-resolution additive light field near-eye display by switchable Pancharatnam–Berry phase lenses

Zhan, Tao; Lee, Yun‐Han; Wu, Shin‐Tson

doi:10.1364/oe.26.004863

Cited by 132 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…However, to achieve high performances, very complex fabrication processes are needed. [13,14,21,[29][30][31][32][33][34] The PB microlenses made of liquid crystals are particularly attractive because of their close to 100% efficiency and switchable focal lengths. [19,[24][25][26] The phase profiles desired for lensing can also be realized with the Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phases [27,28] by using birefringent materials or metasurfaces with spatially variant optical axes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Low f‐Number Diffraction‐Limited Pancharatnam–Berry Microlenses Enabled by Plasmonic Photopatterning of Liquid Crystal Polymers

Jiang

Guo

et al. 2019

Advanced Materials

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For example, phase profiles required for lensing can be realized by sculpturing dielectric substrates with discretized steps or sloped ridges through photo lithography and reactive ion etching. [18][19][20] These lithography processes make diffractive microlenses more tailorable than refractive microlenses in terms of filling factor and low f-number. However, to achieve high performances, very complex fabrication processes are needed. For example, up to 8 lithography steps and sometimes electron-beam lithography are needed to achieve low f-numbers, [21][22][23] diffraction-limited performance, and over 90% efficiency. [19,[24][25][26] The phase profiles desired for lensing can also be realized with the Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phases [27,28] by using birefringent materials or metasurfaces with spatially variant optical axes. [13,14,21,[29][30][31][32][33][34] The PB microlenses made of liquid crystals are particularly attractive because of their close to 100% efficiency and switchable focal lengths. [31,33,35,36] Large-sized PB lenses with low f-numbers can be made by holography photopatterning with a refractive master lens, [31] while liquid crystal PB microlenses are still limited to large f-number (>10) [32,33] and no work has been able to show diffraction-limited quality.A range of techniques have been developed in recent years to align liquid crystal molecules into arbitrary designer orientation patterns, which are either based on photoalignments using digital micromirror device (DMD), [37,38] pixel-to-pixel direct laser writing, [30] holography interference [31] and plasmonic photo patterning, [39][40][41] or based on nanostructured surfaces by using nanoimprinting [33] or atomic force microscopy scribing. [42] These techniques have enabled various applications and research ranging from optical devices to programmable origami. [30,33,37,38,[43][44][45][46][47] Here, we show that high-quality microlenses based on PB phases can be designed and made with liquid crystal polymers by using a plasmonic photopatterning technique. The plasmonic photopatterning technique allows for arbitrary molecular orientations encoded in designs of so-called plasmonic metamasks. We designed and fabricated microlenses with a set of focal lengths and f-numbers to test the quality and resolution limit of the plasmonic photopatterning technique. As discussed later, the microlenses with f-number down to 2 requires 1.5 µm of smallest molecular pitches.Microlenses are desired by a wide range of industrial applications while it is always challenging to make them with diffraction-limited quality. Here, it is shown that high-quality microlenses based on Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) phases can be made with liquid crystal polymers by using a plasmonic photopatterning technique. Based on the generalized Snell's law for the PB phases, PB microlenses with a range of focal lengths and f-numbers are designed and fabricated and their point-spread functions and ability to image micrometer-sized particles are carefully characterized. The results show that...

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confidence: 99%

Low f‐Number Diffraction‐Limited Pancharatnam–Berry Microlenses Enabled by Plasmonic Photopatterning of Liquid Crystal Polymers

Jiang

Guo

et al. 2019

Advanced Materials

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“…In Figure B, two switchable PB LC lenses are stacked together, working as a tunable lens with four discrete focal lengths. As a result, four image planes can be realized . The LC director distribution of the PB LC lens is shown in right side of Figure B.…”

Section: Working Principle Of Multiplane Ar Displaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The key components of multiplane displays using the time‐multiplexing method are fast tunable optical devices, such as liquid lens, deformable mirror, and liquid crystal (LC) devices . For instance, Hua et al realized a multiplane optical see‐through (OST) AR display utilizing a tunable liquid lens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, LC polarization switches, together with polarization selective devices such as a savart plate, a polarizing beam splitter, calcite lens, or cholesteric LC (CLC) films, are used for time‐multiplexed AR systems to generate images at different depths. Tunable LC lenses (eg, LC refractive lens and LC Pancharatnam‐Berry [PB] lens) are employed in AR displays, to control the distance of virtual images by varying their focal lengths. And in some displays, multiple LC scattering shutters are used as the display medium …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiplane displays based on liquid crystals for AR applications

Liu

2020

J Soc Info Display

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Multiplane displays are capable of displaying 3D scenes with correct focus cues by creating multilayer 2D images in the display volume. Hence, such a 3D display technique could effectively address the accommodation‐vergence conflict (AVC) problem, which is prevalent in augmented reality (AR) displays. In this paper, we review the recent progress on multiplane AR displays based on liquid crystals (LCs) for AR applications. The working principle of multiplane AR displays is illustrated, the electro‐optical properties of the tunable LC devices are investigated and display prototypes are demonstrated. Finally, we discuss the prospects and challenges of multiplane AR displays based on LCs.

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“…To prove the concept, in Figure , a PBL is integrated into a simplified HUD system, where a doublet lens replaces the curved mirrors. Moreover, a multiplane light field HUD is also applicable through time or polarization multiplexing.…”

Section: Applications To Hudsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐efficiency switchable optical elements for advanced head‐up displays

et al. 2019

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The Pancharatnam‐Berry optical elements (PBOEs) are utilized to enhance the performance of head‐up displays (HUDs). The Pancharatnam‐Berry lenses (PBLs) provide varifocal functionality and compensate chromatic aberrations, while the Pancharatnam‐Berry deflectors (PBDs) can function as optical combiners and waveguide couplers. Moreover, the Rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) based on the scattering matrix is developed and applied in the structure optimization of PBOEs for HUD applications.

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High-resolution additive light field near-eye display by switchable Pancharatnam–Berry phase lenses

Cited by 132 publications

References 31 publications

Low f‐Number Diffraction‐Limited Pancharatnam–Berry Microlenses Enabled by Plasmonic Photopatterning of Liquid Crystal Polymers

Low f‐Number Diffraction‐Limited Pancharatnam–Berry Microlenses Enabled by Plasmonic Photopatterning of Liquid Crystal Polymers

Multiplane displays based on liquid crystals for AR applications

High‐efficiency switchable optical elements for advanced head‐up displays

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