Cylindrical and Powell Liquid Crystal Lenses with Positive-Negative Optical Power

We demonstrate a technique to engineer cylindrical and Powell liquid crystal lenses with positive or negative optical power. The device is based on two indium-tin-oxide electrode combs and a microstructured voltage transmission electrode. The technique features the advantages of a multielectrode lens, albeit using a single lithographic step and only two voltage sources. Extensive control of the phase profile across the device active area is demonstrated, achieving both positive and negative optical power. The lens aperture is not constrained by the geometrical parameters and can be scaled to larger values. ? 1989-2012 IEEE.