Title :
Liquid crystal rotatable waveplates
Author :
Ohtera, Yasuo ; Chiba, Takafumi ; Kawakami, Shojiro
Author_Institution :
Res. Inst. of Electr. Commun., Tohoku Univ., Sendai, Japan
fDate :
3/1/1996 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
We propose and demonstrate rotatable waveplates using liquid crystal for the first time which can be used for polarization control. To realize a waveplate with an arbitrary direction of birefringence, we use a vertically-aligned nematic liquid crystal cell with a lateral electric field. The orientation of the waveplate can be rotated endlessly. It was confirmed that the direction of the waveplate could be rotated endlessly at a rate of 7200/spl deg//s, which is sufficient to construct polarization controlling devices for most SMF transmission systems.
Keywords :
birefringence; liquid crystal devices; nematic liquid crystals; optical communication equipment; optical elements; optical fibre polarisation; optical rotation; SMF transmission systems; birefringence direction; lateral electric field; liquid crystal; liquid crystal rotatable waveplates; polarization control; polarization controlling devices; vertically-aligned nematic liquid crystal cell; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Apertures; Electrodes; Geometrical optics; Glass; Liquid crystals; Optical polarization; Optical retarders; Optical saturation; Voltage;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
