Abstract

We present a simple yet efficient, competitive, and practical fabrication method, called “polarizer rotation exposure”, for preparing vector gratings with a large area and a high diffraction efficiency. The polarization states of ultraviolet light were modulated by rotating the polarizer, and the resultant ultraviolet light was line-focused onto hydrogen-bonded liquid crystalline polymer films set on a linear stage. Mesogenic molecules in the polymer films were reoriented according to the light electric vectors, and vector gratings in which the optical anisotropy is periodically modulated were fabricated by the polarizer rotation exposure method.