ABSTRACT This paper presents an electrically controlled liquid crystal (LC) prism for dynamic beam steering and divergence control. By engineering the electrode voltage distribution, the device generates two distinct types of equivalent prism configurations within the LC layer. One is a uniform phase gradient, mimicking a constant‐pitch prism, enables precise and continuous beam deflection to specific angles, such as 20° and 30°. Another equivalent nonuniform phase gradient, corresponding to a combination of prisms with varying pitches, achieves significant beam divergence enhancement, expanding the field of view (FOV) from 15° to approximately 70° while maintaining uniform light distribution. The device operates entirely without mechanical moving parts, offering key advantages in programmability, compact integration, and low power consumption. With its flexible and electronically adjustable beam control, this technology has potential applications in intelligent lighting, automotive head‐up displays, AR/VR systems, privacy‐enabled displays, and laser processing.
Wang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.