Invention:
A new technology for creating polarized illumination sources that are small, have controllable spectral outputs, and that can be arranged into a microarray of polarization sources. This technology aligns molecules of photoactive dye in a liquid crystal polymer host to produce light with a degree of polarization of about 0.5. The molecules can be aligned locally across a large area to produce a micro polarization array if desired. The type of luminescent molecule used determines the source bandwidth.
Background:
Manipulation of light polarization is becoming increasingly important in many optical systems. As optical technologies ranging from digital displays to photolithography continue to grow, there comes a greater need to not only control polarization, but also to provide polarized illumination for such devices. Polarized sources are able to provide further improvements in performance and efficiency. Few types of polarized sources already exist, such as lasers, but their size and cost often limit their applications of use. Lasers are particularly limited in their spectral output as well as their ability to locally control polarization states across a wide area. Thus, there exists a need for polarization sources that are compact, have controllable spectral outputs, and that can be engineered to provide polarization control on a localized level.
Advantages:
- Inexpensive and straightforward fabrication
- Based on well-established technology
Applications:
- Display technology, including LCD backlighting and OLED displays
- Illumination in remote sensing
- Photolithography
- Remote Sensing
