Lateral electrode smectic liquid crystal devices
US5493426A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 3, 1993 |
| Grant date | Feb 20, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 3, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F2203/50
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
This invention provides smectic liquid crystal cells with lateral electrodes. The effective change in refractive index with field-induced tilting of the liquid crystal molecules is increased by providing an angle between the direction of propagation of light and the direction of the molecular directors at zero applied field. For homeotropically aligned liquid crystals this is accomplished by inclining the incident light beam at an oblique angle to the device surface. For tilted layer cells the liquid crystal layers are tilted and the light can impinge at normal incidence. This invention further provides Fabry-Perot filters utilizing lateral electrode liquid crystal cells.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.