Patent · US Expired

Liquid crystal optical storage medium with gray scale

US5846452A · kind A · utility

54Cited by
18References
51Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 6, 1995
Grant dateDec 8, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 6, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02F1/133788
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An optical storage medium with gray scale capability comprising: a plurality of facing substrates in series; alignment layers disposed on one or both sides of the substrates to give alignment layer pair(s) wherein at least one of the alignment layers of each of the alignment layer pair(s) is an optical alignment layer, and wherein the optical alignment layer(s) comprise anisotropically absorbing molecules or moieties; liquid crystal layers disposed between the alignment layer pair(s); wherein, each of the liquid crystal layer(s) comprises three or more alignment regions having three or more different alignment states; and, wherein the different alignment states are controlled by exposure of optical alignment layer(s) with polarized light of a wavelength or wavelengths within the absorption band of the anisotropically absorbing molecules or moieties therein, is described. The invention is also directed to compact disc, erasable compact discs, photographic storage devices, and storage displays.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.