Nanosecond switching of micrometer optical retardance by an electrically controlled nematic liquid crystal cell.
Electro optic response of liquid crystals in mainstream display applications exhibits a millisecond switching of optical retardance on the order of one micrometer. We demonstrate that a similarly large optical retardance can be switched much faster, within 10 100 nanoseconds, by using multiple passes of light through a cell filled with the nematic liquid crystal. The fast response is based on the so called nanosecond electric modification of order parameters (NEMOP) effect. The described approach can be used to develop ultrafast optical shutters and modulators.
Optics express