We report a new mixture, which is modified from Merck TL-216, for liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulators (SLMs). To achieve 2π phase change at λ = 633 nm with 5 V operation voltage, the measured response time is about 3 ms at 50 °C. Meanwhile, our mixture exhibits no sign of photodegradation and even the total dosage has exceeded 400 MJ/cm² at a blue laser wavelength λ = 465 nm. In comparison, E7 died at about 30 MJ/cm². Widespread applications of this material for high brightness SLMs, near-eye displays, and head-up displays are foreseeable.

A novel beam steering angle expander is demonstrated by cascading two polymeric liquid crystal polarization lenses with different diopters. The lens module performs as a planar telescope, which has features such as a light weight, low cost, and high precision. The magnifier offers wide-angle, continuous steering when integrated with an active fine-angle beam steering device. The potential application for LiDAR is emphasized.

A submillisecond-response and light scattering-free polymer-network liquid crystal (PNLC) for infrared spatial light modulators is demonstrated. Our new liquid crystal host exhibits a higher birefringence, comparable dielectric anisotropy, and slightly lower visco-elastic constant than a commonly employed commercial material, HTG-135200. Moreover, the electro-optical performance of our PNLCs with different monomer concentrations, cell gaps, and liquid crystal (LC) hosts is compared and discussed from four aspects: operating voltage, hysteresis, relaxation time, and light scattering loss. The temperature effect on hysteresis is also analyzed. Potential applications of PNLCs for laser beam steering and spatial light modulators especially in the infrared region are foreseeable.