Liquid crystal-based lenticular lens array with laterally shifting capability of the focusing effect for autostereoscopic displays

We demonstrate a liquid crystal (LC)-based lenticular lens array with the laterally shifting capability of the focusing effect in a complementary geometry with an offset between the center of the convex lens in the bottom substrate and that of the concave lens in the top substrate. Depending on the index matching between each of two different polymer lenses and the LC, either the focusing effect from the convex lens-LC interface or that from the LC-concave lens interface is achieved. The lateral shift of the focusing effect of our complementary lens array is dictated by the amount of the offset between the convex lens and the concave lens whereas the focal length depends on the amount of the index mismatching. For the input beam polarized linearly along the direction of the lenticular lens, according to an applied voltage, the ordinary and extraordinary indices of the LC coincide with the index of the convex lens and that of the concave lens made of two different polymers, respectively. Our lenticular lens array shows distinct three-dimensional viewing characteristics with laterally shifting zones.