Work

Liquid Crystal Moiré Metasurface for polarization-independent all-solid-state light field modulation

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Electrically reconfigurable flat optics offer continuous wavefront control without mechanical motion. Liquid-crystal (LC) modulation enables moiré-based reconfiguration, but its polarization sensitivity restricts conventional LC-based moiré devices to one linear-polarization component. Here, we propose and numerically demonstrate a polarization-independent, all-solid-state Liquid Crystal Moiré Metasurface (LCM 2 ) integrating amorphous-silicon half-waveplate meta-atoms with a liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) architecture. The geometry-dependent propagation phase of the meta-atoms encodes a static moiré phase, while the pixelated LC layer provides its electrically programmable complement. Electronic LC phase programming introduces an effective angular shift between the LC and fixed metasurface phase patterns without mechanical rotation, while half-waveplate polarization exchange mitigates LC polarization sensitivity. At a wavelength of 1550 nm, three tunable functions have been demonstrated: a varifocal moiré lens, a cone-angle-tunable Bessel-beam generator, and an orbital angular momentum beam generator with switchable topological charges. Simulations of the varifocal moiré lens across six input polarization states and seven effective rotation angles showed similar focusing characteristics, demonstrating the polarization-independent performance of the LCM 2 platform. This platform offers opportunities for compact, programmable flat optics in imaging, beam manipulation, and optical communications.

Source: Optics Express

DOI: 10.1364/oe.615199