Electro-optically induced deflection in liquid-crystal waveguides

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Abstract
This paper describes electro-optically induced tunable deflection in the plane of a waveguide structure by utilizing the liquid-crystal property of tunable birefringence together with appropriately designed electrodes. The magnitude of tunable deflection achieved in this experiment (>20°) had only been demonstrated in passive structures in the past. Furthermore, by changing the device parameters slightly, electrically controlled total internal reflection or refraction in the plane of the waveguide structure was demonstrated. This allowed operation of the device as a switch where the guided beam was deflected or ``switched'' through a very large angle (>70°) in the plane of the guide.