Polarization-insensitive, stacked, liquid crystal polarization grating bandpass filters

Elena Nicolescu; Michael J. Escuti

doi:10.1117/12.875473

23 February 2011 Polarization-insensitive, stacked, liquid crystal polarization grating bandpass filters

Elena Nicolescu, Michael J. Escuti

Proceedings Volume 7934, Optical Components and Materials VIII; 79340V (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875473
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2011, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We introduce a polarization-insensitive tunable bandpass filter design having the following unique properties: (i) high peak transmittance (~ 80 - 90%) that is independent of input polarization, (ii) non-mechanical tuning over a potentially large wavelength range (> 100 nm) with a narrow passband (< 10 nm possible), (iii) low-cost, simple, and compact (thin-film) construction with a large clear aperture suitable for many simple camera systems. This is a stacked birefringent filter approach similar to Lyot and Solc fiters but with significantly less loss due to the removal of polarizers from the system. The filter is based on a stacked configuration of polymer polarization gratings (PGs) and either fixed or tunable wave plates. PGs are a class of thin film anisotropic diffraction gratings, which exhibit unique properties including zero-order transmittance that is independent of incident polarization, and practically all diffracted light appears within the zero- and first-diffraction orders with efficiency ranging from nearly 100% to 0%. In this work we explore a variety of filter stack configurations and analyze them theoretically using Jones Calculus and Poincare Sphere reasoning. Both fixed and tunable filter configurations are presented and analyzed in terms of finesse, full width at half maximum, free spectral range, and tuning range. We then present preliminary experimental data for a three stage fixed bandpass filter.

Citation Download Citation

Elena Nicolescu and Michael J. Escuti "Polarization-insensitive, stacked, liquid crystal polarization grating bandpass filters", Proc. SPIE 7934, Optical Components and Materials VIII, 79340V (23 February 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.875473

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available