The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 24, 2015
Filed:
Aug. 15, 2013
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (US);
Michael J. Escuti, Cary, NC (US);
Chulwoo Oh, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Ravi Komanduri, Raleigh, NC (US);
Brandon L. Conover, Fuquay-Varina, NC (US);
Jihwan Kim, Raleigh, NC (US);
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (US);
Abstract
A liquid crystal device includes a first polarization grating, a second polarization grating, and a liquid crystal layer. The first polarization grating is configured to polarize and diffract incident light into first and second beams having different polarizations and different directions of propagation relative to that of the incident light. The liquid crystal layer is configured to receive the first and second beams from the first polarization grating. The liquid crystal layer is configured to be switched between a first state that does not substantially affect respective polarizations of the first and second beams traveling therethrough, and a second state that alters the respective polarizations of the first and second beams traveling therethrough. The second polarization grating is configured to analyze and diffract the first and second beams from the liquid crystal layer to alter the different directions of propagation thereof in response to the state of the liquid crystal layer. Related devices are also discussed.