RESONANT ENHANCEMENT OF LOW-CONTRAST ELECTROOPTIC EFFECTS

Ferroelectric liquid crystals can be optimized for speed, but such mat erials tend to have small switching angles and consequently low contra st in the smectic A phase. We describe a method whereby such a low-co ntrast but fast switching effect can be enhanced, in theory giving the same contrast as a material with a switching angle of 22.5 degrees. T his method therefore promises liquid-crystal modulators of high contra st and with speeds of the order of hundreds of nanoseconds. The theore tical basis of this method and initial results that support this analy sis are presented. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.