Tunable polarizing reflector based on liquid crystal-clad guided-mode resonator

This work develops a polarisation-tunable reflector that is based on a guided-mode resonant (GMR) filter with an integrated liquid- crystal (LC) polarisation rotator. The GMR filter serves as a linear polariser that strongly reflects linearly polarised light with high polarisation extinction ratio of 20: 1 and sharp reflection band of similar to 20 nm in width. The LC polarisation rotator comprising an LC cell and quarter- wave plate can electrically control the polarisation orientation of the reflected light from the GMR. The required applied voltage for arbitrary polarisation rotation between 0 degrees and 180 degrees is less than 4.1 V. This dynamically tunable polarised reflector is also compact, integrable into optical circuits, and easily fabricated, showing high potential for practical and widespread applications. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

The developed polarisation-tunable reflector in this work is based on a GMR filter with an integrated LC polarisation rotator, providing high polarisation extinction ratio and sharp reflection band. The LC rotator can electrically control the polarisation orientation, with a required voltage of less than 4.1V for arbitrary polarisation rotation. This compact and easily fabricated reflector shows high potential for practical and widespread applications in various fields.