Liquid crystal light modulators with asymmetrical interfaces
US5040876A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 7, 1990 |
| Grant date | Aug 20, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 7, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/1393
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Liquid crystal devices whose light transmission properties are respectively responsive to the polarity of an applied voltage enable the realization of high-speed modulators useful for communication and display purposes. Such a polar effect is achieved by establishing asymmetrical interfacial interactions between the surfaces of a liquid crystal layer and alignment layers disposed in respective contact with the surfaces. Asymmetry is introduced in the form of either different anchoring strengths or different tilt angles for liquid crystal molecules at the two surfaces. In either case, both quiescently and in response to an electric field applied perpendicular to the surfaces of the liquid crystal layer, the contour of the longitudinal axes of the molecules is thereby established to have different curvatures, each less than about 45 degrees, at the two surfaces.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.