Patterned color liquid crystal polymer polarizers

Graham Myhre, Arshad Sayyad, Stanley Pau

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

28 Scopus citations

Abstract

We demonstrate patterned polarizers for visible wavelengths using dichroic dye in a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) host. Contact lithography is used to pattern a thin alignment layer, which subsequently transfers the pattern to the LCP. A gray dichroic dye mixture for the visible spectrum is optimized and implemented along with LCP to fabricate this polarizer. A peak extinction ratio of 41 was measured at a 633 nm wavelength, while simultaneously showing patterns as small as 3 μm. Finally, multi layer films are demonstrated by fabricating a two layer patterned circular polarizer consisting of a quarter-wave retarder and a color polarizer. Our process has applications in three-dimensional displays, interferometry, optical storage, and polarimeters.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)27777-27786
Number of pages10
JournalOptics Express
Volume18
Issue number26
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 20 2010

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Patterned color liquid crystal polymer polarizers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this