Name: Meadowlark Optics Liquid Crystal Polarization Gratings (LCPG) and Lenses (LCPL)
Brand: Meadowlark Optics Inc
Availability: InStock

Description

Meadowlark Optics’ Liquid Crystal Polarization Gratings utilize spatially varying birefringence to create highly efficient polarization-sensitive gratings. Circularly polarized light can be directed into either the +1 or -1 order depending on the handedness of the incident light. By using a stack of N LCPGs and half-waveplate switches, it is possible to steer to 2ᴺ discrete angles in 1-D or 2-D arrays.

Specifications

Waveplate Type:	Zero Order
Material:	Liquid Crystal
Mounting:	Mounted, Unmounted
Shape:	Round, Square, Rectangle, Custom
Size:	25.4 mm
Center Wavelength:	700 nm
Retardation:	Other
Retardation Accuracy:	Custom, Other
Wavefront Distortion:	Custom, Other
Surface Quality (Scratch-Dig):	40-20

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Features

Low size, weight, and power
Random-access scanning
Robust non-mechanical operation
Large apertures possible (>20 cm)
Diffraction-limited wavefront quality
High diffraction efficiency (>99%)
Up to 80°×80° steering demonstrated
Demonstrated in VIS to MWIR
Wide-angle beam steering > 100°
Sub-millisecond switching times

Applications

Aerospace & Defense: Inertialess optical beam steering with dramatic reductions of size, weight, and power
Automotive: Wide-angle steering of flash and coherent lidar for ADAS and autonomous vehicles
Manufacturing + Automation: Increase range and resolution of conventional Time-of-Flight cameras without sacrificing field of view
Telecommunication: Nonmechanical coarse pointing, acquisition, and tracking, as well as nonmechanical divergence control
Wind Power Generation: Compact nonmechanical pointing of coherent Doppler lidar wind sensing
Photo Simulation
Optogenetics
Machine Vision
Remote Focusing