Modulating infrared radiation by nematic phase-5 liquid crystal

Electro-optic modulation of infrared (IR) radiation using liquid crystals (LCs) has been studied recently. Some nematic liquid crystals which have positive dielectric anisotropy are found to preserve high birefringence in the IR region, so that a thin LC layer can still be utilized to provide high modulation efficiency and broad modulation bandwidth without sacrificing the speed. In addition, low absorption of these liquid crystals in the IR region (except for the vicinities of resonant absorption bands) makes LCs attractive for the electrooptic applications in this region.