Polarizer-free imaging using reference image for liquid crystal lens

This paper reports a polarizer-free imaging method for an optical system that uses a liquid crystal (LC) lens of single nematic LC layer as a focusing element. By using a reference image, undesired low frequency image components introduced by non-modulated ordinary wave are reduced and the image contrast is enhanced. The proposed method is verified by experiments. Clear and well-focused images can be obtained without using any polarizer.