Patent ID: 7426069

Claim:
An optical apparatus comprising: a first optical element having a first polarizing layer containing a material having a refractive index that changes in accordance with the magnitude of applied voltage and first and second transparent electrodes sandwiching both sides of the first polarizing layer in the direction of thickness and polarizing light passing through the first polarizing layer in the direction of thickness; and a second optical element having a second polarizing layer containing a material having a refractive index that changes in accordance with the magnitude of applied voltage and third and fourth transparent electrodes sandwiching both sides of the second polarizing layer in the direction of thickness and polarizing light passing through the second polarizing layer in the direction of thickness, wherein the first and second optical elements are placed one over another in the direction of thickness of the first and second polarizing layers; and wherein the first and second transparent electrodes are operable to apply a first voltage that changes in magnitude in a stepwise manner or continuously to the first polarizing layer along a first direction orthogonal to the direction of thickness, and the third and fourth transparent electrodes are operable to apply a second voltage that changes in magnitude in a stepwise manner or continuously to the second polarizing layer along the first direction such that an output light beam is parallel to an extension line of an input light beam and is displaced in the first direction when the light traveling in the direction of thickness of the first and second polarizing layers passes through the first and second polarizing layers in that order, in which the input light beam is the light beam inputted to the first polarizing layer and the output light beam is the light beam outputted from the second polarizing layer.