Large electro-optic beam steering with Nematicons

R. Barboza, A. Alberucci and G. Assanto

Opt. Lett. 36 (14), 2611–3 (2011)

Abstract:

We analyze the angular steering of self-confined light beams, i.e., spatial solitons, in nematic liquid crystals exploiting both their electro-optic response and reorientational nonlinearity. A bias-induced interface is obtained with comb electrodes in a planar cell, applying two distinct voltages to control the spatial distribution of the optic axis. The configuration allows spatial solitons to propagate in a plane and maximize their deflection via refraction and total internal reflection, with an overall deflection of 70° in standard E7.