Fast switching optical modulator based on dual frequency nematic cell

We demonstrate a fast optical modulator capable of switching large amount of optical retardation (a few microns) in less than 1ms. The result is achieved by employing a dual frequency nematic in cells with high pre-tilt alignment and by providing a special addressing scheme that features amplitude and frequency modulated voltage. We explore the effect of surface alignment and dielectric heating on the switching time. We also report the measurements of dielectric permittivities and crossover frequency of dual frequency nematic.