AN ELECTROOPTICALLY CONTROLLED LIQUID-CRYSTAL DIFFRACTION GRATING

A structure for an electro-optically controlled liquid crystal diffrac tion grating is proposed, which can dramatically simplify the fabricat ion process of liquid crystal optical gratings. The structure consists of two alternating stripes. Each stripe is a hybrid liquid crystal ce ll with adjacent stripes oriented perpendicularly. This kind of electr o-optically controlled diffraction grating in principle gives 100% dif fraction efficiency and no polarization direction dependence. The deta iled fabrication process is presented. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.