2024 | Dawei Zhang, Chun-Ting Xu, Quan-Ming Chen, Han Cao, Hong-Guan Yu, Qing-Gui Tan, Yan-qing Lu, Wei Hu
This study proposes a frequency-synthesized phase engineering framework to enable planar lenses with programmable chromatic aberration. By designing a phasefront-frequency matrix, different spatial phases can be encoded to separate frequencies, allowing arbitrary dispersion tailoring and frequency-separated functionalization. The chiral birefringent medium, cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC), is used to demonstrate this design due to its frequency-selective geometric phase encoding. By stacking multiple CLC layers with specifically designed helical pitches and initial director orientations, inch-sized planar lenses with RGB achromatic, enhanced chromatic aberration, and color routing properties are demonstrated. These lenses achieve high focusing efficiency and low crosstalk among colors, releasing the freedom of dispersion control in planar optics and enabling frequency decoupled phase modulations. The proposed approach offers new insights into functional planar optics and may enhance the performance of existing optical devices. The work demonstrates the feasibility of achieving chromatic aberration correction and enhancement in imaging, as well as color routing through cascaded CLC lenses. The results show that the proposed lenses can achieve high-quality imaging with minimal color distortion and enable zoom imaging by enhancing chromatic dispersion. The cascaded off-axis CLC lens also enables color routing by individually focusing RGB colors at designed positions. The study highlights the potential of CLC-based planar optics for advanced optical applications, including imaging, computing, and communication. The research provides a practical framework for planar lenses with programmable chromatic dispersion and opens new avenues for the development of functional planar optics.This study proposes a frequency-synthesized phase engineering framework to enable planar lenses with programmable chromatic aberration. By designing a phasefront-frequency matrix, different spatial phases can be encoded to separate frequencies, allowing arbitrary dispersion tailoring and frequency-separated functionalization. The chiral birefringent medium, cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC), is used to demonstrate this design due to its frequency-selective geometric phase encoding. By stacking multiple CLC layers with specifically designed helical pitches and initial director orientations, inch-sized planar lenses with RGB achromatic, enhanced chromatic aberration, and color routing properties are demonstrated. These lenses achieve high focusing efficiency and low crosstalk among colors, releasing the freedom of dispersion control in planar optics and enabling frequency decoupled phase modulations. The proposed approach offers new insights into functional planar optics and may enhance the performance of existing optical devices. The work demonstrates the feasibility of achieving chromatic aberration correction and enhancement in imaging, as well as color routing through cascaded CLC lenses. The results show that the proposed lenses can achieve high-quality imaging with minimal color distortion and enable zoom imaging by enhancing chromatic dispersion. The cascaded off-axis CLC lens also enables color routing by individually focusing RGB colors at designed positions. The study highlights the potential of CLC-based planar optics for advanced optical applications, including imaging, computing, and communication. The research provides a practical framework for planar lenses with programmable chromatic dispersion and opens new avenues for the development of functional planar optics.