Shortening Focal Length of 100-mm Aperture Flat Lens Based on Improved Sagnac Interferometer and Bifacial Liquid Crystal

Conventional lens technologies face great challenges in applications requiring large apertures and small f-numbers, while a liquid crystal (LC) lens based on geometric phase is a potential solution. However, the challenge of manufacturing a large size LC flat lens with high efficiency and high phase gradient still remains. Here, an improved interferometric exposure system is proposed to acquire a large-size vectorial optical field for photo-alignment. Bifacial LC layers are applied to reduce the focal length while maintaining a large aperture, high diffraction efficiency, and light weight. LC layers are deposited on both sides of the substrate with the same vector system. Finally, a bifacial LC flat lens with a 10 cm diameter and 88.37% diffraction efficiency is fabricated by using optical elements smaller than 2 in., while the effective focal length is reduced from 91.5 cm to 46 cm comparing to the single side LC lens. This work demonstrates the great advantages of LC-based flat lenses for flat optical systems with large aperture.

Automated summary

An improved interferometric exposure system is proposed to acquire a large-size vectorial optical field for photo-alignment, and bifacial LC layers are applied to reduce the focal length while maintaining a large aperture, high diffraction efficiency, and light weight. A bifacial LC flat lens with a 10 cm diameter and 88.37% diffraction efficiency is fabricated, while the effective focal length is reduced from 91.5 cm to 46 cm. This work demonstrates the great advantages of LC-based flat lenses for flat optical systems with large aperture.