Optically controlled spherical liquid-crystal lens: theory and experiment

A liquid-crystal lens with the focal distance depending on the transmitted light intensity is proposed and studied. A theoretical model is developed which adequately describes the wave-front formation by the lens. The results of visualisation of the wave-front control in a setup with crossed Polaroids and the intensity distributions, which characterise the focusing properties of the lens, are presented. To illustrate the application of the lens, an adaptive-optics system is built for stabilisation of radiation power on a 1-mm diaphragm, which reduces the power fluctuations by a factor of 30.