Toroidal composite liquid crystal microlens array co-driven by four independent signal voltages

A new type of liquid crystal microlens array (LCMLA) constructed by a single-layered LC materials is proposed. By controlling the applied signal voltage, a gradient electric field distribution is formed in the liquid crystal cavity, and the pointing vectors of the liquid crystal molecules are reoriented according to the formed electric field distribution, thus achieving the regulation of the light beam. The functional area of the basic annular integrated liquid crystal microlens is divided into three layers: The first layer is the main structural area, including four concentric ring electrode arrays with different radii, and the transparent ITO is selected as the electrode material; The middle layer is a silica insulation layer, and the main function is to insulate the first and third layers; The third layer is an aluminum metal electrode layer, which main function is to effectively isolate the electric field generated by the structural area of the first layer. Compared with traditional LC microlenses driven electrically,this structure mainly verifies the changes in the spatial electric field in the liquid crystal cavity under the action of the metal electrode baffle. The four concentric rings are modulated by independently driven-out signal voltages, and each ring produces a differentiated effect by applying different signal voltages. This research has laid a solid foundation for continuously developing LCMLA technology.