Electrically switchable polymer-dispersed liquid crystal materials including switchable optical couplers and reconfigurable optical interconnects
First Claim
1. A system for forming a slanted grating comprising:
- a sample comprising a polymerizable monomer, a liquid crystal, a chain-extending monomer, a co-initiator, and a photoinitiator; and
a first incident beam and a second incident beam entering the sample forming the slanted grating therein,wherein an angle of incidence of the first incident beam with respect to a normal from the sample is different from an angle of incidence of the second incident beam;
a transparent substrate placed in optical contact with the formed slanted grating; and
an at least one additional slanted grating placed in optical contact with the transparent substrate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A new photopolymerizable material allows single-step, fast recording of volume holograms with properties that can be electrically controlled. Polymer-dispersed liquid crystals (PDLCs) in accordance with the invention preferably comprise a homogeneous mixture of a nematic liquid crystal and a multifunctional pentaacrylate monomer in combination with photoinitiator, coinitiator and cross-linking agent. Optionally, a surfactant such as octancic acid may also be added. The PDLC material is exposed to coherent light to produce an interference pattern inside the material. Photopolymerization of the new PDLC material produces a hologram of clearly separated liquid crystal domains and cured polymer domains.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. A system for forming a slanted grating comprising:
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a sample comprising a polymerizable monomer, a liquid crystal, a chain-extending monomer, a co-initiator, and a photoinitiator; and a first incident beam and a second incident beam entering the sample forming the slanted grating therein, wherein an angle of incidence of the first incident beam with respect to a normal from the sample is different from an angle of incidence of the second incident beam; a transparent substrate placed in optical contact with the formed slanted grating; and an at least one additional slanted grating placed in optical contact with the transparent substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system for forming a slanted grating comprising:
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a sample comprising a polymerizable monomer, a liquid crystal, a chain-extending monomer, a co-initiator, and a photoinitiator; and a first incident beam and a second incident beam entering the sample forming the slanted grating therein, wherein an angle of incidence of the first incident beam with respect to a normal from the sample is different from an angle of incidence of the second incident beam; a transparent substrate placed in optical contact with the formed slanted grating; and individual voltage sources connected to the slanted grating and the at least one additional slanted grating. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification