We propose the design for a switchable mirror with high efficiency and a 30 nm bandwidth. The device is based on a liquid crystal filled etalon. Broad bandwidth is achieved through the use of integrated half-wave layers into the dielectric stack design, while high efficiency is achieved using a polarization independent liquid crystal effect. Potential applications in the area of displays are al...

The effect of multiple internal reflections on the extinction ratio of perfectly compensated liquid crystal devices is studied. We find the previously unexplained wavelength dependence of light leakage in an ideally compensated device is caused by the interference of the internally reflected ordinary and extraordinary waves. While these effects have not been previously made clear, they can plac...

A device has been invented for protein crystallization by sandwiching the liquid droplet between two surfaces, in which both hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces can be used as crystallization substrates. Comparing with the traditional hanging drop method, it can also reduce the evaporation rate of the liquid droplet and provide a stable environment for the crystal growth. In this work, crystal...

Until now, several attempts have been made to obtain axicons by using liquid crystals. Previous results had always a considerable deviation from the linear response and the resulting aperture is square. In addition, classical fabrications methods are expensive and only produce fixed phase profiles. In this study, a novel structure to obtain tunable axicons with a perfect conical shape and a cir...

A novel radiographic imaging system based on a liquid crystal light valve is described. A liquid crystal light valve is a photon addressed spatial light modulator that consists of a high resolution, solid-state electrostatic detector (photoconductor) and an electro-optic light modulator (liquid crystal cell) physically coupled in a sandwich structure. We propose a light valve with a thick, x-ra...