Surface localized polymer aligned liquid crystal lens

The surface localized polymer alignment (SLPA) method allows complete control of the polar pretilt angle as a function of position in liquid crystal devices. In this work, a liquid crystal (LC) cylindrical lens is fabricated by the SLPA method. The focal length of the LC lens is set by the polymerization conditions, and can be varied by a non-segmented electrode. The LC lens does not require a shaped substrate, or complicated electrode patterns, to achieve a desired parabolic phase profile. Therefore, both fabrication and driving process are relatively simple. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America