A self-healing ferroelectric liquid crystal electro-optic shutter based on vertical surface-relief grating alignment.

ABSTRACT: Ferroelectric liquid crystals remain of interest for display and spatial light modulators because they exhibit significantly faster optical response times than nematics. However, smectic layers are sensitive to shock-induced flow and are usually permanently displaced once a well-aligned sample is disrupted, rendering such devices inoperable. We introduce a vertical alignment geometry combined with a surface-relief grating to control both the smectic layer and director orientations. This mode undergoes "self-healing" of the smectic layers after disruption by shock-induced flow. Sub-millisecond switching between optically distinct states is demonstrated using in-plane electric fields. Self-healing occurs within a second after being disrupted by shock, wherein both the layer and director real

SUBMITTER: Wyatt PJM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8342423 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature