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Variable optical attenuator based on polymer stabilized twisted nematic liquid crystal

Yan-qing Lu, Fang Du, Yi-Hsin Lin, and Shin-Tson Wu

Open Access Open Access

Abstract

A variable optical attenuator (VOA) based on polymer stabilized twisted nematic (PSTN) liquid crystal (LC) is demonstrated. Comparing with the normal twisted nematic LC-based VOA, PSTN exhibits a much faster response time. Moreover, the polymer networks effectively eliminate the backflow effect which exists in the normal TNLC cell. The attenuation mechanism of the PSTN LC was studied. Both polarization rotation and light scattering effects are found to contribute to the optical attenuation. The ratio between these two mechanisms can be adjusted by changing the polymer concentration and polymer network domain size.

©2004 Optical Society of America

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Figures (6)
Fig. 1.
Fig. 1. A TN LC based variable optical attenuator modeled by Zemax™ optical simulation software.

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Fig. 2.
Fig. 2. Voltage-dependent transmittance of a TN LC based VOA. λ=1.55 µm.

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Fig. 3.
Fig. 3. Time dependent transmittance showing the VOA’s dynamic response under difference driving voltage. The solid black curve, dashed red curve and dash-dot blue curve correspond to 2.5 V, 10 V and 25 V, respectively.

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Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. Voltage dependent transmittance of a PSTN LC-based VOA.

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Fig. 5.
Fig. 5. Time dependent transmittance of a PSTNLC based VOA under difference driving voltages. The solid black curve and the dashed blue curve correspond to 20 V and 25 V, respectively.

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Fig. 6.
Fig. 6. The measured light scattering of a PSTN LC cell as a function of the applied voltage.

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Tables (1)

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Table 1. Comparison of optical response times at different driving voltages.

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Equations (1)

Equations on this page are rendered with MathJax. Learn more.

{ τ off = γ 1 d 2 K 22 π 2 τ on = τ off ( V V th ) 2 − 1
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