Electrically switchable structural colors based on liquid-crystal-overlaid aluminum anisotropic nanoaperture arrays

Switchable liquid crystal lenticular microlens arrays based on photopolymerization-induced phase separation for 2D/3D autostereoscopic displays

Conventionally, the fabrication of liquid crystal lenticular microlens arrays (LCLMLAs) is complicated and costly. Here, we demonstrate a one-step fabrication technique for LCLMLAs, which is prepared through the photopolymerization-induced phase separation in the LC/polymer composite. The LCLMLAs possess both polarization-dependent and electrically tunable focusing properties. Furthermore, we construct a 14-view 2D/3D switchable autostereoscopic display prototype based on a 2D LCD panel and the prepared LCLMLA, which has a viewing angle of 14° and a crosstalk of 46.2% at the optimal viewing zone. The proposed LCLMLAs have the merits of simple fabrication, large-scale production, and low cost.

Two-level optical encryption platform via an electrically driven liquid-crystal-integrated tri-channel metasurface

Metasurface-based optical encryption techniques have garnered significant attention due to their ultracompact nature and ability to support multichannel optical responses. Here, we present a liquid-crystal (LC)-integrated metasurface that enables polarized-encrypted amplitude and phase multiplexing. This approach allows for simultaneously realizing trifold displays of both meta-holography and meta-nanoprinting. By combining propagation and geometric phase modulation, we meticulously screen the unit cells of the metasurface, establishing a comprehensive structural dictionary. As a proof-of-concept, we developed an electrically driven advanced optical encryption platform that boasts multifunctional channels and two-level encryption capabilities. This study paves the way for advanced optical encryption and identification techniques.

Electrically switchable multicolored filter using plasmonic nanograting integrated with liquid crystal for optical storage and encryption

This study proposed the synergistic merging of twisted-nematic liquid crystals (LCs) and nanograting embedded etalon structures for plasmonic structure color generation, realizing dynamic multifunctional metadevices. Metallic nanogratings and dielectric cavities were designed to provide color selectivity at visible wavelengths. Meanwhile, the polarization for the transmission of light could be actively manipulated by electrically modulating these integrated LCs. Moreover, manufacturing independent metadevices as single storage units with electrically controlled programmability and addressability facilitated secure information encoding and secretive transfer by dynamic high-contrast images. The approaches will pave the way for the development of customized optical storage devices and information encryption.

Cholesteric liquid crystal-enabled electrically programmable metasurfaces for simultaneous near- and far-field displays

Metasurfaces can enable polarization multiplexing of light so as to carry more information. Specific polarized light necessitates bulk polarizers and waveplates, which significantly increases the form size of metasurface devices. We propose an electrically programmable metasurface enabled by dual-frequency cholesteric liquid crystals (DF-CLCs) for simultaneous near- and far-field displays. Moreover, the integrated device can be electrically programmed to demonstrate 6 different optical images by engineering the DF-CLCs with frequency-modulated voltage pulses. Such programmable metasurfaces are potentially useful for many applications including information storage, displays, anti-counterfeiting, and so on.