Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals for Display and Photonics Applications

Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLC) is a good candidate for the new generation display and photonics devices with advanced performance in comparison with usually used nematic LC. Several electrooptical modes can be used for for the new generation of FLC devices for displays and photonics [1]: (i) deformed helix ferroelectric (DHF) effect; (ii) electrically suppressed helix ferroelectric liquid crystals (ESHFLC); (iii) modulation of light in diffraction FLC grating; and (iv) orientational electro-optic Kerr effect. The novel FLC devices may include field sequential color (FSC) FLC with a high resolution, low power consumption and extended color gamut, which can be used in the screens of portable PCs, mobile phones, PDAs and micro and pico-projectors. FLC photonics devices have found applications for the generation of digital holograms, adaptive beam steering systems, sensors and polarization gratings. Additionally, high-speed communication systems, producing elements (such as switches, attenuators, polarization rotators) demand FLC devices with extremely fast response, stable, low loss, operable over a wide temperature range, and that require small operating voltages and extremely low power consumption