Dual frequency cholesteric light shutters

We developed a dual frequency cholesteric light shutter which utilizes a cholesteric liquid crystal; the dielectric anisotropy of the material changes from positive to negative when the frequency of applied voltage is increased. The shutters are switched to the transparent homeotropic texture by low frequency voltages, and switched to the reflecting planar texture by high frequency voltages. We designed a waveform which reduced the transition time from the homeotropic texture to the planar texture to less than 100 ms. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.