Bistable liquid crystal in a fabry-perot etalon

Details Bistable liquid crystal in a fabry-perot etalon Bistable liquid crystal in a fabry-perot etalon

1987-09-04

1988-12-13

Miller, Stanley D.

Optics: measuring and testing

Range or remote distance finding

With photodetection

350354, 350393, 356352, G02F 113, G01B 902, G02B 523

Patent

active

047906340

ABSTRACT:
An optically bistable device comprises a Fabry-Perot etalon containing intracavity liquid crystal material. Etalon mirros of deposited silver are overlaid on indium tin oxide electrodes. The electrodes provide electrical biasing means for the material, which exhibits both optical nonlinearity and electro-optic tunability of refractive index. The etalon has an interference fringe maximum at a wavelength .lambda..sub.m1. the fringe is tunable to .lambda..sub.m2 by applying a bias voltage across the mirrors. A light beam illuminates the etalon, the beam having a wavelength .lambda..sub.s where .lambda..sub.m2 is between .lambda..sub.s and .lambda..sub.m1. The beam intensity is sufficient to induce bistable etalon switching for a fringe at .lambda..sub.m2 but not for a fringe at .lambda..sub.m1. Tuning the etalon fringe electro-optically from .lambda..sub.m1 to .lambda..sub.m2 initiates optical bistability without the prior art requirement of either variable light intensity or an external electrical feedback loop.

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Cheung et al., "Optical Bistability and Self-Oscillation of a Non-Linear Fabry-Perot Interferometer Filled with a Nematric-Liquid-Crystal Film", Optics Letters, vol. 8, No. 1, Jan. 1983, pp. 39-41.

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