Ferroelectric liquid crystal optical waveguide switches using the double-refraction effect

We propose an optical waveguide device with a bistable ferroelectric liquid crystal as the core. The liquid crystal electrooptic effect device induces a double-refraction phenomenon and the associated optical beamsteering pro vides a very simple 1 x N optical switch, Beamsteering has been experimenta lly demonstrated and characterized. It exhibits very large angles (phi = 4 degrees - 6 degrees for respective wavelengths lambda = 0.850 - 0.832 mum). In the same way, we propose a design that includes polymer integrated tens es for a compact device with a large number of outputs.