Reflection Mode Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Light Valve

Abstract

This paper describes the procedure for fabrication of a reflection-mode polymer-dispersed liquid crystal light valve (PDLCLV) consisting of a polymer-dispersed liquid crystal film, a diamondlike carbon film, a dielectric mirror, a Bi 12 SiO 20 photoconductive crystal plate, and transparent electrode films. The many advantages of the PDLCLV include the lack of need for polarizers, high optical transmittance, high-speed response and ease of fabrication. The performance of the device as evaluated experimentally is as follows: optical transmittance 72%; extinction ratio 178/1; limiting resolution 34 lp/mm; and rise/decay times 14/15 ms. These values are suitable for the image converter of an optically addressed projection display. It has also been found that the resolution increases as the frequency of the AC voltage driving the PDLCLV decreases.