DEFORMED HELIX FERROELECTRIC LIQUID-CRYSTAL FABRY-PEROT ETALONS

Results obtained are reported and discussed for Deformed Helix Ferroel ectric Liquid Crystal (DHFLC) Fabry Perot etalons which have improved cavity finesse using highly reflective dielectric mirrors. We show tha t, by the use of the cavities, the response times can be reduced to th e order of 10 mu s with <10V applied voltages when the devices are use d as optical switches. This is however only true for responses where t he transmissions are switched from high to low, i.e. switching out of resonance. Moreover, a shorter pitch DHFLC, Roche FLC 9848, with highe r tilt angle has also been used which has faster intrinsic response ti mes and also improves the wavelength tuning range.