Electro-optically tunable diffraction grating with photoaligned liquid crystals

This work shows the possibility of fabricating one- and two-dimensional diffraction structures based on liquid crystals photoaligned with the layers of photosensitive azobenzene poly(ester imide). The gratings involve a micron-sized planar-twisted nematic alignment. The diffraction efficiency of these gratings is controlled by a uniform electric field applied across the cell. The electro-optical measurements showed short switching times (0.8 ms and 7 ms for τrise and τdecay respectively) and low driving electric fields (1.5V∕μm) of 1st order diffracted light. The LC grating is regarded as an amplitude grating in the low electric field region and a phase grating in the high electric field region. Moreover the diffraction efficiency is polarization-independent in the wide range of external electric fields.