title: Multilayer photo-aligned thin-film structure for polarizing photonics.
abstract: In this Letter, an advanced multilayer photo-aligned liquid crystal polymer (LCP) thin-film structure with multiple optical functions is introduced. Within each LCP layer, a spatially distribution of local optical axes can be controlled by a patterned photo-alignment layer. As an embodiment of the proposed structure, a two-layer structure with pixelated controlled light-propagation directions and polarizations has been studied, which has shown the potential to be used as a photomask for generating multi-domain photo-alignment structures with a single exposure step. The combination of the multilayer structure with patterned photo-alignment technology provides a new perspective of designing optical structures for polarizing photonics applications.
authors.forename: C X
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: V G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Chigrinov
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kwok