Abstract

We develop the mathematical procedures for quantitatively describing the optical performance of a liquid-crystal image transducer as a function of transducer parameters and operating conditions. These procedures are based on a 4 × 4 matrix formalism which provides an exact numerical solution of Maxwell’s equations. Our calculations include interference effects arising from the multilayer structure of the transducer and we realistically treat reflection and transmission at isotropic-anisotropic layer boundaries. We compute the off-state optical properties of a twisted nematic reflection-mode transducer developed at Hughes Research Laboratories. We show that the dependence of output light intensity on liquid-crystal thickness is strongly influenced by the optically isotropic layers in the transducer, especially the electrodes. If the liquid-crystal thickness varies across the transducer aperture, these layers can produce a sharp fringe pattern in the output intensity. We also analyze the effect of varying the angle between the input polarization and the director at the entrance face of the liquid-crystal layer. For a given liquid-crystal thickness, there always exists an angle for which the off-state intensity is zero. The sensitivity of off-state intensity to rotation varies with liquid-crystal thickness. Off-state behavior is independent of liquid-crystal pretilt for the range of pretilt angles used in typical transducers.

© 1980 Optical Society of America

Optical properties of a liquid-crystal image transducer at normal incidence: on-state

G. Paul Montgomery
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 70(7) 843-856 (1980)

Use of equivalent films to reduce effects of nonuniform liquid-crystal thickness in a liquid-crystal image transducer

G. Paul Montgomery
Appl. Opt. 19(18) 3103-3105 (1980)

Transmission characteristics of a twisted nematic liquid-crystal layer*

J. Grinberg and A. D. Jacobson
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 66(10) 1003-1009 (1976)

Technique for characterizing azimuthal anchoring of twisted nematic liquid crystals using half-leaky guided modes

F. Z. Yang, H. F. Cheng, H. J. Gao, and J. R. Sambles
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 18(7) 994-1002 (2001)

Method for computing the optical properties of a smectic C* liquid-crystal cell

Alastair R. MacGregor
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 6(9) 1493-1503 (1989)