Using liquid crystals (LC) to tune terahertz (THz) metamaterials has been investigated over the past decade with some limited success. The issue has been that the range of tuning has been significantly lower than theoretically anticipated high tuning capabilities, the changes in properties are subject to the orientation of the LC molecules with respect to modulated electromagnetic field. In other words, the design of the alignment of the LC must be optimized specifically for each metamaterial design. The simple first order model must be replaced with representing the LC as an orientation changing, anisotropic uniaxial layer. By optimizing the LC alignment, significant advances will be possible in agile system for chemical and biological sensor, antenna designs, cloaking, and optical signal processing.
Electro-optic (EO) modulation of the amplitude and phase of electromagnetic waves using liquid crystals (LCs) is commonplace in the optical and infrared regions. This effort has led to commercially available components used in spectral filtering, polarization management, beam steering, transmitters, displays, etc. However, electro-optic techniques have had limited success in the terahertz (THz) region due to several practical design challenges. The growth in applications has led to an interest in the development of a spatial light modulator (SLM) for the terahertz region. In the visible region, the most common SLMs use electro-optic materials such as liquid crystals to spatially modulate a beam. However, this approach to achieve a practical SLM in the terahertz regime has been difficult. The primary barrier for components is the long interaction lengths required to modulate a THz wave. Since the EO modulation depth is directly proportional to the multiplication of the change of permittivity and the ratio of interaction length over wavelength, THz systems with wavelengths ranging from 150 μm to 1mm pose a challenge. To overcome this barrier, longitudinal stratified sub-wavelength liquid crystal structures have been engineered and fabricated. The stratified structures introduce the challenge in the selection and design of the electrodes. By using multiple layers the tunable films can be maintained at manageable thicknesses (25 to 200 μm). The reduced individual film thickness will significantly improve the requisite drive voltage and response time. However, the layered structure with multiple conducting layers adds considerable challenges to the design of the transparent electrode. Both simulation and experimental data will be presented.
The increasing interest in the terahertz frequency range is motivated by the unique property of sub-millimeter waves to penetrate any nonmetallic materials such as fabric and plastic, and sense objects distinctive signatures. Furthermore, because of its low photon energy, terahertz radiation can be used in medical applications for accurate imaging without damaging tissues. For these reasons there is a growing need of devices dedicated to control the radiation in this frequency range. Current established technology uses non-tunable, mesh-like filters and mechanical mirrors to filter and manipulate THz radiation. We study electrically-controlled beaming and filtering abilities of sub-wavelength metallic gratings. The geometry consists of a finite array of slits in a metallic film separated by spacers and filled with liquid crystal (LC). We exploit the Fabry-Perot (FP) like resonances of the slits to filter THz radiation. We then simulate the application of an external voltage across the metallic grating in order to generate an electro-optic torque force on the LC molecules and change the dielectric constant inside the slits. This results in a large tuning effect on the FP resonances. We also predict that a linear voltage distribution across the grating induces a linear phase delay resulting in a beamsteering action for radiation incoming at grazing incidence.
Liquid crystal (LC) based sensors have been investigated over the past decades in an effort to develop low cost, portable,
field-deployable, highly selective chemical and biological sensors. Due to the collective behavior and the highly
anisotropic properties of liquid crystal molecules, detection of very low levels (ppbs) of chemical and biological agents
is possible. However, present LC sensors rely on a threshold concentration of a targeted analyte to cause a surface driven
molecular reorientation of the LC molecules. In this paper, we present techniques using capacitive transduction to
monitor anchoring energy that improve sensitivity of LC based sensors.
This paper presents an optical sensor based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon, involved with
liquid crystal (LC) sensitive layer. This sensor has potential applications in chemical and biological systems. We
present a tracking method for the state of alignment and degree of ordering of the partially ordered LC film.
This can be achieved via the SPR propagation constant and the critical angle at the interface between a metal
and an LC film. The proposed idea is also investigated experimentally. For this purpose, we fabricated gold
nano-dots array on an optical fiber tip for localized SPR sensing. The spectral position of the maximum loss in
the transmission spectra depends on the refractive index of the medium surrounding the sensor fiber tips. This
allows for tracking the LC profile parameters.
Active modelocking of multiple polariton lasers mediated by real time sensing offers novel capabilities for
optically based sensing. We outline a strategy based in part on short range polariton-polariton interactions
and in part on an actively managed external optical field coherent with each of the individual polariton lasers.
This actively managed coherent optical field is required to establish long range coherence between multiple
spatially distinct polariton lasers. Polariton lasers offer nonlinear behavior at excitation levels of a few quanta
of the optical field, time constants of picoseconds or less, and optical wavelength dimensions of individual
lasers. Achievement of useful long range, hundreds of meters, polariton based optical sensing appears
useful, but to require active cohering of arrays of polariton lasers. Continuous metrology and active control of
the system coherence offer unique opportunities for sensing approaching quantum limited operation. We
consider strategies and capabilities of sensing systems based on such arrays of spatially distinct, but
collectively coherent, polariton lasers. Significant advances in a number of technical areas over decades
appear needed to achieve such systems.
This paper describes in detail the historical development of the ICVision system which is based on the partial pixel architecture. The partial pixel architecture allows the realization of three-dimensional (3-D) displays that are functionally equivalent to realtime holographic stereograms. As such, this architecture permits the simultaneous presentation of multiple stereoscopic images so that motion parallax is discernible in the resultant 3-D scene. The key innovation of the architecture is that each pixel is subdivided into partial pixels, which in turn can be implemented as individual diffraction gratings.
In addition to describing the partial pixel architecture, this paper presents the details of several demonstration devices including a static device developed for image evaluation, and two dynamic systems based on liquid crystal devices.
We describe the design and performance of a color real-time autostereoscopic 3D display based on our partial pixel 3D display architecture. The primary optical components are an active-matrix liquid crystal display and a diffractive optical element overlay. The display operates at video frame rats and is driven with a conventional VGA signal. 3D animations with horizontal motion parallax are readily viewable as sets of stereo images. The measured contrast and perceived brightness of the display are excellent, but there are minor flaws in image quality due to secondary images.
Low latency, high bandwidth interconnecting networks that directly link arbitrary pairs of processing elements without contention are very desirable for parallel computers. The simultaneous optical multiprocessor exchange bus (SOME-Bus) based on a fiber optic interconnect is such a network. The SOME-Bus provides a dedicated channel for each processor for data output and thus eliminates global arbitration. Each processor can receive data simultaneously from all other processors in the system using an array of receivers. The architecture allow for simultaneous multicast and broadcast messages using several processors with zero setup time and no global scheduling. In this paper, we discuss the design of a possible opto-electronic implementation of the SOME-Bus along with an optical power budget analysis. Slant Bragg fiber grains arranged to couple light out of a fiber ribbon cable into an array of amorphous silicon detectors vertically integrated on a silicon are presented as a low cost novel means of interconnecting 10 to 120 processors.
We describe a coherence filtering technique based on degenerate four wave mixing (DFWM) in a thin nonlinear optical material. In contrast to previous works which used ultra-short laser pulses, we performed low-coherence filtering techniques through scattering media with broad- spectrum nanosecond pulses. In our first 'proof of principle' experiments we used a 100 micrometer thick layer of dye solution as a nonlinear optical material and investigated a one dimensional case for depth-resolved measurements through a scattering media consisting of a highly scattering suspension of dielectric microspheres in water. We also describe a technique to obtain instantaneous cross-sectional images (which can be depth scanned to obtain the third dimension) performed with a low-coherence nanosecond laser source on a liquid crystal doped with an infrared dye. Experimental results were obtained with room temperature LiF:F2- and LiF:F2+ color center lasers, and a Q-switched alexandrite laser. This technique can be used to provide instantaneous, single-shot, two-dimensional images of the internal structure of materials versus depth.
The ICVision system provides the functional equivalent of a real-time holographic stereogram. Using diffractive optics, the system creates a set of discrete viewing regions called virtual viewing slits. Each pixel of the display fills each viewing slit with different image data. When the images presented in two virtual viewing slits separated by an interoccular distance are filled with stereoscopic pair images, the observer sees a 3D image. The images are computed so that a different stereo pair is presented each time the viewer moves approximately 1 eye pupil diameter (approximately 3 mm), thus providing a series of stereo views. The current embodiment of the ICVision display is realized by integrating a diffractive optical element with a conventional AMLCD. The authors have previously reported on the design of static displays and real-time monochromatic full motion displays. This paper discusses the design details of a full color display. The current system does not require the use of color filters within the AMLCD. A portable version of the real-time color display will be demonstrated at the conference.
We describe the properties of diffractive gratings induced in nematicliquid crystal thin films by fringing electrostatic fields induced by interdigitated ITO electrodes. The index of refraction variation produced by fringing fields gives rise to strong diffraction with resolution constrained only by the available lithography.
KEYWORDS: Diffraction gratings, 3D displays, Holography, Modulators, Eye, Very large scale integration, LCDs, Diffraction, Stereo holograms, Computing systems
There is increasing interest in real-time autostereoscopic 3D displays. Such systems allow 3D objects or scenes to be viewed by one or more observers with correct motion parallax without the need for glasses or other viewing aids. Potential applications of such systems include mechanical design, training and simulation, medical imaging, virtual reality, and architectural design. One approach to the development of real-time autostereoscopic display systems has been to develop real-time holographic display systems. The approach taken by most of the systems is to compute and display a number of holographic lines at one time, and then use a scanning system to replicate the images throughout the display region. The approach taken in the ICVision system being developed at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is very different. In the ICVision display, a set of discrete viewing regions called virtual viewing slits are created by the display. Each pixel is required fill every viewing slit with different image data. When the images presented in two virtual viewing slits separated by an interoccular distance are filled with stereoscopic pair images, the observer sees a 3D image. The images are computed so that a different stereo pair is presented each time the viewer moves 1 eye pupil diameter (approximately mm), thus providing a series of stereo views. Each pixel is subdivided into smaller regions, called partial pixels. Each partial pixel is filled with a diffraction grating that is just that required to fill an individual virtual viewing slit. The sum of all the partial pixels in a pixel then fill all the virtual viewing slits. The final version of the ICVision system will form diffraction gratings in a liquid crystal layer on the surface of VLSI chips in real time. Processors embedded in the VLSI chips will compute the display in real- time. In the current version of the system, a commercial AMLCD is sandwiched with a diffraction grating array. This paper will discuss the design details of a protable 3D display based on the integration of a diffractive optical element with a commercial off-the-shelf AMLCD. The diffractive optic contains several hundred thousand partial-pixel gratings and the AMLCD modulates the light diffracted by the gratings.
The ICVision system is a diffractive display based on VLSI and liquid crystal technologies which displays the functional equivalent of a real-time holographic stereogram. We have previously reported several static ICVision displays, based on the partial pixel architecture, that displays a fixed 3D scene. Herein we report the first real-time implementation of an ICVision display (also based on the partial pixel architecture) that displays the functional equivalent of a real-time holographic stereogram. The device is constructed using a diffractive optical element and a separate liquid crystal display. The animated sequence is pre-computed then played back in real-time using standard VGA on a 80386 or higher PC. The display, drive electronics, and computer may be battery powered making the display suitable for portable use.
The ICVision system is a diffractive display based on VLSI and liquid crystal technology designed to compute and display holographic stereograms in real-time. The diffractive display is formed on the surface of standard integrated circuit chips which have been covered with a liquid crystal overlay. Fringing electrostatic fields generated by indium tin oxide electrodes on top of the integrated circuit are used to induce the actual diffractive display. A large display may be assembled from several hundred individual dies. Within each individual die making up the ICVision display will be the processor that computes the image to be displayed. This paper describes the design of image storage and drive electronics for the ICVision display. The proposed electronics allow the fabrication of an individual static ram cell and d/a converter for each of the tens of thousands of diffractive elements that make up a ICVision display.
The ICVision system is a diffractive display based on VLSI technology. It is designed to display holographic stereograms in real-time. The diffractive display is formed on the surface of standard integrated circuit chips which have been covered with a liquid crystal overlay. Fringing electrostatic fields generated by indium tin oxide electrodes on top of the integrated circuit are used to induce the actual diffractive display. Within the individual IC die making up the display will be computational engines that compute the image to be displayed. Because grating information is encoded in the ITO gratings at the time of chip fabrication, the actual real-time computation is several orders of magnitude less than previous approaches. A large display may be formed by a tessellation of several hundred IC die, each approximately 1 cm2, on a flat substrate. An optical broadcast system would be used to transfer imagery information into the integrated circuits, obviating the need for wire bond attachments. This paper presents details of the overall architecture of the display system, and details of the holographic grating computations.
Using a Q-switched CO2 laser pulse induced dynamic grating technique, the basic mechanisms for the optical nonlinearities of nematic and isotropic liquid crystals in the infrared (10.6 micrometers ) region are reexamined. The principle mechanisms are the density and temperature effects, which are characterized by relaxation times in the nano- and micro-second time scales, respectively. Optical self-limiting effects and optical switching using isotropic liquid crystals are also demonstrated for visible nanosecond (Q-switch Nd:YAG at 0.53 micrometers ) and for infrared microsecond laser pulses, respectively.
We present the results of a detailed study of the optical nonlinearities
of liquid crystals spanning the picosecond-millisecond time scale. These
nonlinearities are utilized in some optical limiting/switching applications
with infrared and also visible lasers.
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