Multifunctional Liquid Crystal Device for Grayscale Pattern Display and Holography with Tunable Spectral-Response

Conventional liquid-crystal (LC) devices can only realize a single-manipulation of optical amplitude or phase, which hinders the development of LC devices toward ultracompact multifunctional integration. Herein, it is shown LC devices can be readily extended to multifunctional ones without the cost of complex design and fabrication. Specifically, by combining Pancharatnam-Berry phase with orientation-degeneracy implied in Malus's law, each operation-unit of LC devices can manipulate the amplitude and phase of incident light separately, representing a new paradigm for designing innovative LC devices. A multifunctional LC device which can display a grayscale pattern right at the surface of LC, while simultaneously project an independent phase-only holographic image in the far-field is experimentally demonstrated. More interestingly, with the LC directors tilted with external applied voltages, a new degree-of-freedom is provided to modulate the spectral-response of LC devices, contributing to the distinct function of optical switch. Owing to these unique characteristics of dual-manipulations and spectrum-tunability, the proposed multifunctional LCs have promising prospects in information multiplexing, optical communications, spectral measurements, etc.

Automated summary

This paper introduces a method to extend liquid crystal devices into multifunctional devices by combining Pancharatnam-Berry phase with orientation-degeneracy implied in Malus's law, which enables separate manipulation of the amplitude and phase of incident light. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed multifunctional LC device can display a grayscale pattern at the surface of LC, while simultaneously projecting an independent phase-only holographic image in the far-field. Furthermore, the spectral-response of the LC device can be modulated by tilting the LC directors with external applied voltages, providing a unique function of optical switch. Due to these unique characteristics of dual-manipulations and spectrum-tunability, the proposed multifunctional LC devices have promising prospects in information multiplexing, optical communications, spectral measurements, etc.