Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol.282, 355-363, 1996
Spatial Light-Modulator by Using Polymer Cell-Wall Type Liquid-Crystal Optical Shutter
Polymer Cell-Wall Type Liquid Crystal (PCW-LC) Light shutter has been developed. This is a kind of liquid crystal-polymer complexes (LCPCs), utilizing the light scattering of cholesteric focal conic texture. However, its abilities are superior to other LCPCs reported. As the cholesteric liquid crystal grains are covered with thin polymer films, the polymer content is very small, around 10 wt%. Consequently, the driving voltage is very low (Ca.5-6V). This type of LC light shutter has the great advantage of non-polarizer usage. Therefore, this type of light shutter can be useful for not only liquid crystal display devices but also other applications, for example, spatial light modulator (SLM). In this work, PCW-LC is introduced at first, and then the applications of PCW-LC light shutter to SLM is described. Non-polarizer usage makes it easier to combine it with the other component parts for producing a SLM.