Colorless photoalignment material for fabricating liquid crystal holographic optical elements

The optical properties of a new colorless photoalignment material, RN-4942, its fabrication stability, and applications in fabricating passive liquid crystal devices, including Pancharatnam-Berry phase optical elements and polarization volume holograms for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) displays, are studied. Compared to conventional alignment materials, RN-4942 offers a ∼1000x higher exposure sensitivity, faster fabrication process, lower dosage requirements, and greater humidity resistance during the patterned-alignment fabrication using a holographic exposure setup, ensuring a much better alignment stability. In addition, RN-4942-based devices exhibit high thermal, temporal, and photo stabilities, making them exceptional candidates for AR/VR display applications.