Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.2
2.4
Journals
Crystals
Special Issues
Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond
share announcement

Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (16 May 2022) | Viewed by 13023

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Bing-Yan Wei

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
School of Physical Science and Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710129, China
Interests: liquid crystals; photoalignment; spatially structured light beams; optical vortex; orbital angular momentum; vector beam; Airy beam
Dr. Peng Chen

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Interests: liquid crystal photonics; orbital angular momentum of light; geometric phases; photo-alignment; chiral liquid crystals
Dr. Haiwei Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Amazon Lab126, Sunnyvale, CA 94089, USA
Interests: SLM; liquid crystal material; display devices; AR/VR
Dr. Miao Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, South University of Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: liquid crystals optics; display technique; bionics
Dr. Wan-Long Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Microscale Optoelectronics, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: photoalignment; liquid crystal; optical field control; liquid crystal on silicon; metasurface

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Manipulating light in multiple degrees of freedom and dimensions has been a hot topic over the past few decades, from the space domain (amplitude, phase, and polarization), frequency, to the time domain. For example, ordinary optical elements such as gratings and lenses can induce linear and spherical phase modulation, leading to diffraction, refraction, focusing or imaging phenomena. Novel optical elements like spiral phase plates, cubic phase plates, and polarization converters have been created to transform the plane wave with uniform polarization state into vortex beams, Airy beams and vector beams with spatially varying phase, intensity and polarization distributions, respectively. These spatially structured light beams have significant applications in particle manipulation, optical communication, high resolution imaging, quantum informatics, laser processing, and so on. Similarly, ultrafast optical pulse shaping techniques allow for the temporal control. For the frequency modulation, nonlinear optical systems have been adopted to realize second-harmonic and even high-harmonic generation. Liquid crystal, as an excellent electro-optical material, has been widely utilized for the optical field modulation with advantages like high efficiency, wide operating spectrum range, various external field stimuli (e.g., electric/magnetic field, light irradiation, and heat), and so on. In addition, other materials such as silica and some oxide-based metasurfaces, metamaterials, photonic crystals, lithium niobate based nonlinear crystals, and so on, also exert their unique advantages in optical field modulation.

This Special Issue aims to provide a platform for the researches about optical field modulation based on liquid crystals and beyond. Besides original research articles, we also encourage submission of review papers on recent progresses and future prospects or challenges.

Dr. Bing-Yan Wei
Dr. Peng Chen
Dr. Haiwei Chen
Dr. Miao Jiang
Dr. Wan-Long Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Optical field modulation
  • Spatially structured light beams
  • Phase
  • Amplitude
  • Polarization
  • Spatial light modulation
  • Time domain modulation
  • Frequency modulation
  • Liquid crystal

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 2354 KiB  
Article
Differential Frequency Exploration of Vortex Light in Lithium Niobate Crystals
by Xing Wei, Samuel Kesse and Ballipalli Chandra Babu
Crystals 2023, 13(1), 154; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13010154 - 16 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1885
Abstract
In recent years, Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) beams have been applied in optical communications to improve channel capacity and spectral efficiency. However, in practical applications, OAM information is often imprinted on short-wavelength light beams. How to completely transfer this information to the O-band [...] Read more.
In recent years, Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) beams have been applied in optical communications to improve channel capacity and spectral efficiency. However, in practical applications, OAM information is often imprinted on short-wavelength light beams. How to completely transfer this information to the O-band to achieve long-distance transmission has not been conveniently achieved through most traditional methods. We studied the differential frequency experiment of OAM-carrying beams from both theoretical and experimental facets. In the periodic polarization 0 class matched lithium niobate crystal, the difference in frequency between the incident 1950 nm strong pump light and the 780 nm weak input light is achieved, resulting in output light in the O band. The polarization period of the crystal is 20 μm, and the best phase matching is achieved when the temperature is maintained at 41.2 °C. At this time, 780 nm vortex light produces 1300 nm vortex light, and the nonlinear conversion efficiency reaches 0.1387% (topological charge number l = 5). During the experiment, momentum, energy, and topological charge are all conserved. Our experiment successfully converted vortex light at 780 nm into vortex light at 1300 nm, paving the way for the subsequent conversion of 780 nm single photons generated by quantum dots carrying OAM into OAM photons in the communication band. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 2731 KiB  
Article
Autofocusing and Self-Healing Optical Vortices Realized via Circular Cubic Phase Modulation
by Haozhe Xiong, Bingyan Wei, Yuan Zhang, Sheng Liu, Peng Li, Yunlong Wu and Jianlin Zhao
Crystals 2022, 12(10), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12101356 - 25 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1625
Abstract
Optical vortices have drawn extensive research interests due to their widespread applications in various fields. Therefore, it is of great significance to modulate optical vortices to endow them with more properties. Herein, the autofocusing and self-healing properties are introduced to optical vortices via [...] Read more.
Optical vortices have drawn extensive research interests due to their widespread applications in various fields. Therefore, it is of great significance to modulate optical vortices to endow them with more properties. Herein, the autofocusing and self-healing properties are introduced to optical vortices via implementing circular cubic phase modulation. The propagation dynamics of the modulated optical vortex is analyzed, and the experimental results match well with the simulations. Moreover, the autodefocusing optical vortices can also be generated, and the flexible switching between the autofocusing state and autodefocusing state can be easily realized by adjusting the helicity of the incident circular polarization. Besides, the topological charges of the two states are also experimentally verified. Our study provides a novel way to modulate optical vortices, which may enrich their applications in optics and photonics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 6403 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Characteristics of Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Diffuser Element Applied in Multi-Focal Display Architectures
by Ainars Ozols, Elza Linina, Roberts Zabels and Lachezar Komitov
Crystals 2022, 12(5), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12050733 - 20 May 2022
Viewed by 2005
Abstract
Solid-state multi-focal and volumetric technologies highlight the future of 3D-display development. One of the most convenient implementations of multi-focal 3D displays are stacks of transparent liquid crystal displays. In this work, the core element is dissected—a switching optical diffuser element based on cholesteric [...] Read more.
Solid-state multi-focal and volumetric technologies highlight the future of 3D-display development. One of the most convenient implementations of multi-focal 3D displays are stacks of transparent liquid crystal displays. In this work, the core element is dissected—a switching optical diffuser element based on cholesteric liquid crystals, playing the role of a transparent display. In the present study, high-speed synchronized optical spectroscopy is used. We analyzed the kinetic and electro-optical characteristics of the diffuser element, the operation of which is based on the switching between diffuse and transparent states of this element. The underlying aim of this study was to investigate ways to improve some of these characteristics. It has been found that the transient peak in the optical transmission during field-off state, which is reducing the intensity of the light scattered by the diffuser element, is likely not associated to the assumed formation of the transient planar state. As the origin of this peak, we suggest a transient state possessing uniform lying helix structure, formed due the material flow taking place in the cell during relaxation of the liquid crystal. The role of the contacting surface’s pre-tilt angle in the switching process of the liquid crystal diffuser was established. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

8 pages, 1019 KiB  
Article
Heterogeneously Integrated Photonic Chip on Lithium Niobate Thin-Film Waveguide
by Xing Wei and Samuel Kesse
Crystals 2021, 11(11), 1376; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11111376 - 12 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2786
Abstract
Lithium niobate thin film represents as an ideal material substrate for quantum photonics due to its strong electro-optic effect and high-speed modulation capability. Here, we propose a novel platform which heterogeneously integrates single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots for a single-photon source on a [...] Read more.
Lithium niobate thin film represents as an ideal material substrate for quantum photonics due to its strong electro-optic effect and high-speed modulation capability. Here, we propose a novel platform which heterogeneously integrates single self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots for a single-photon source on a lithium niobate photonic chip. The InAs/GaAs quantum dots can be transferred to the lithium niobate waveguide via a substrate transfer procedure with nanometer precision and be integrated through van der Waals force. A down-tapered structure is designed and optimized to deliver the photon flux generated from the InAs quantum dots embedded in a GaAs waveguide to the lithium niobate waveguide with an overall efficiency of 42%. In addition, the electro-optical effect is used to tune, and therefore to tune the beam splitting ratio of the integrated lithium niobate directional coupler, which can simultaneously route multiple photons to different spatial modes, and subsequently fan out through grating couplers to achieve single-photon sub-multiplexing. The proposed device opens up novel opportunities for achieving multifunctional hybrid integrated photonic chips. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 3833 KiB  
Article
A Retroreflection Reduction Technique Based on the Wavefront Coded Imaging System
by Qing Ye, Yunlong Wu, Yangliang Li, Hao Zhang, Lei Wang and Xiaoquan Sun
Crystals 2021, 11(11), 1366; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11111366 - 9 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1756
Abstract
A novel anti-cat-eye effect imaging technique based on wavefront coding is proposed as a solution to the problem of previous anti-cat-eye effect imaging techniques where imaging quality was sacrificed to reduce the retroreflection from the photoelectric imaging equipment. With the application of the [...] Read more.
A novel anti-cat-eye effect imaging technique based on wavefront coding is proposed as a solution to the problem of previous anti-cat-eye effect imaging techniques where imaging quality was sacrificed to reduce the retroreflection from the photoelectric imaging equipment. With the application of the Fresnel–Kirchhoff diffraction theory, and the definition of generalized pupil function combining both phase modulation and defocus factors, the cat-eye echo formation of the wavefront coded imaging system is theoretically modeled. Based on the physical model, the diffracted spot profile distribution and the light intensity distribution on the observation plane are further simulated with the changes in the defocus parameter and the phase modulation coefficient. A verification test on the cat-eye laser echo power of the wavefront coded imaging system and that of the conventional imaging system at a 20 m distance are conducted, respectively. Simulations and experiment results show that compared with conventional imaging systems, the wavefront coding imaging system can reduce the retroreflection echo by two orders of magnitude while maintaining better imaging quality through defocusing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 2148 KiB  
Article
Anomalous Propagation Characteristics of Airy Beam in Nonlinear Kerr Media
by Li Shao, Yun-Long Wu and Qing Ye
Crystals 2021, 11(8), 879; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11080879 - 28 Jul 2021
Viewed by 1666
Abstract
The propagation characteristics of a single Airy beam in nonlinear Kerr media were numerically investigated by utilizing the split-step Fourier transform method. We show that in addition to normal breathing solitons, the anomalous bound states of Airy spatial solitons can also be formed, [...] Read more.
The propagation characteristics of a single Airy beam in nonlinear Kerr media were numerically investigated by utilizing the split-step Fourier transform method. We show that in addition to normal breathing solitons, the anomalous bound states of Airy spatial solitons can also be formed, which are similar to the states formed in the interaction between two Airy beams in nonlinear media. This quasi-equilibrium state is formed by the interaction of the main soliton beam and side lobes of Airy beam due to their different propagation trajectories in the nonlinear media. Moreover, it has been shown the Airy spatial solitons in tree structure can be formed by adjusting the initial parameters in the interaction between the Airy beam and Kerr media. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical Field Modulation Based on Liquid Crystals and Beyond)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop