– We study the switching dynamics in two-domain and four-domain twisted nematic liquid crystal devices. The equilibrium configuration of these devices involves the coexistence of regions characterised by different handedness of the inherent director twist. At the boundaries between these regions there are typically disclinations lines. The dynamics of the disclination lines controls the propert...

A new solid phase liquid crystal microlens array has been applied to Polarisation Activated Microlens flat panel displays that can be electrically reconfigured between a full performance 2D mode and a low cross talk autostereoscopic 3D mode. The solid phase microlens array enables significant reductions in device thickness and improved ruggedness compared to nematic phase liquid crystalline mic...

A fast phase modulator based on ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) is demonstrated and its performances characterized. For uniform alignment and pure phase modulation, we propose a new FLC device configuration using short helical pitch material and homeotropic alignment structure. This device is driven by periodic in-plane electrode stripes implemented on the surface of both cell substrates. As...

Indium-tin-oxide nanowhiskers were employed as transparent electrodes in a liquid-crystal terahertz phase shifter. Transmittance of the device was as high as ∼75%. Phase shift exceeding π/2 at 1.0 THz is achieved in a ∼500  μm-thick cell. The driving voltage required for the device operating as a quarter-wave plate was as low as 17.68 V (rms), an improvement of nearly an order of magnitude over...

A novel hyperspectral imaging system has been developed that takes advantage of the tunable path delay between orthogonal polarization states of a liquid crystal variable retarder. The liquid crystal is placed in the optical path of an imaging system and the path delay between the polarization states is varied, causing an interferogram to be generated simultaneously at each pixel. A data set co...

A novel type of liquid crystal device is described, based on a four-electrode unit, arranged in a hexagonal array. Full three-dimensional simulations were performed using a finite elements algorithm demonstrating a 2π rotation of the director in the plane parallel to the substrate surface. Applications for the device are situated in the field of multistable wave plates, spatial light modulators...

The liquid crystal mixture E7, based on cyanobiphenyl, has been successfully employed to map electric field strength and distribution in AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors. Using a transmitted light image through crossed polarizers the optical response of the liquid crystal deposited onto the surface of the devices was recorded as a function of source–drain bias, Vds. At a critical vo...

The device physics and electro-optical properties of emerging liquid crystal displays (LCDs) based on the Kerr effect are investigated. With a voltage applied, both blue phase and polymer-stabilized blue phase exhibit a fascinating isotropic-toanisotropic transition. We have developed a numerical model to understand the underlying device physics in order to optimize device performance. The oper...