Optimization Design of Electrode Size for 1D Liquid Crystal Optical Phased Array with High Resolution

In one-dimensional (1D) liquid crystal optical phased array (LCOPA) device, liquid crystal molecular is controlled by discrete strip-shaped electrodes. The size of electrodes influences directly the phase modulation characteristics and far field diffraction efficiency. The model of LCOPA device was set up and the director distribution of liquid crystal in electric field was simulated. The influence of electrode size on phase modulation and diffraction efficiency was analyzed. The results showed that diffraction efficiency increases monotonously with electrode space decreasing. However, when electrode space decreases to less that 1μm, the increment of diffraction efficiency is very small and less than 1%. This means that 1μm of electrode space is small enough for the design of LCOPA devices.