Slot Waveguide Liquid Crystal Phase Shifters with Planar and Homeotropic Alignment
The use of liquid crystals (LC) as cladding in optical switching applications enables large phase shifts with low power consumption, due to the possibility of changing the orientation of
LC’s molecules by applying an external electric field. As a result, variations of such a driving electric field, leads to changes in the effective refractive index of the LC and, consequently, in the optical phase at the output of such waveguides. Establishing an appropriate molecular organization inside the cells is thus fundamental for the function and optimization of such devices.