Adaptive liquid crystal iris

We report an adaptive iris using a twisted nematic liquid crystal (TNLC) and a hole-patterned electrode. When an external voltage is applied to the TNLC, the directors of the LC near the edge of the hole are unwound first. Increasing the voltage can continuously unwind the LC toward the center. When the TNLC is sandwiched between two polarizers, it exhibits an iris-like character. Either a normal mode or a reverse mode can be obtained depending on the orientations of the transmission axes of the two polarizers. In contrast to liquid irises, the aperture of the LC iris can be closed completely. Moreover, it has the advantages of large variability of the aperture diameter, good stability, and low power consumption. Applications of the device for controlling the laser energy and correcting optical aberration are foreseeable.