Polarization‐independent blue‐phase liquid‐crystal gratings driven by vertical electric field

A blue‐phase liquid‐crystal grating is proposed by applying a vertical electric field with lateral periodic distribution. Simulation on electric‐field distribution was also carried out, the results of which suggest the alternation of isotropic and ordinary refractive indices in the lateral direction. Through the electrode configuration design, both 1 D and 2D gratings were demonstrated with high transmittance of ca. 85%. The diffraction efficiency of the first order reached up to 38.7% and 1 7.8% for the 1D and 2D cases, respectively. The field‐induced fast phase modulation permits a rapid switching of diffraction orders down to the submillisecond scale.