Optically enhancing the small electro-optical effect of a fast-switching liquid-crystal mixture

Huan Xu; Anthony B. Davey; Tim D. Wilkinson; William A. Crossland

doi:10.1117/1.602530

1 June 2000 Optically enhancing the small electro-optical effect of a fast-switching liquid-crystal mixture

Huan Xu, Anthony B. Davey, Tim D. Wilkinson, William A. Crossland

Optical Engineering, Vol. 39, Issue 6, (June 2000). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.602530

The method of optical enhancement by means of intersurface-reflection-excited resonance was applied to a single-pixel device filled with a fast-switching electroclinic mixture M68. A contrast ratio of 6.5: 1, which is sufficient for a spatial light modulator (SLM), has been obtained for an electric-field-induced twist angle of 2.97 deg with an electro-optical response time of 162 ns. Success in a single-pixel device should allow very fast multipixel active-silicon-backplane SLMs to be made in the near future. Using this method, we have observed contrast ratios>5 with a field-induced twist angle>2.5 deg. However, better contrast can be achieved with improved alignment of the material used and device fabrication. The thickness effects of the light modulating layer on the resonant behavior were computer-modeled and are discussed in detail. It was found that considerable change occurs even for a thickness variation of 0.1 ?m. However, the effect is much less for a variation of 0.01 ?m. If SLM fabrication cannot control the thickness better than 0.1 ?m, either computer simulation for known thickness or preliminary measurements are needed.

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Huan Xu, Anthony B. Davey, Tim D. Wilkinson, and William A. Crossland "Optically enhancing the small electro-optical effect of a fast-switching liquid-crystal mixture," Optical Engineering 39(6), (1 June 2000). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.602530

Published: 1 June 2000

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