Abstract

The electro-optic Kerr effect caused in optically isotropic substances is known to show extremely fast response as optical shutters. However, the magnitude of the induced birefringence in conventional substances has been too small to be applied to flat-panel displays. We report the large electro-optic Kerr effect in the polymer-stabilized blue phase which exhibits a liquid crystalline blue phase in a wide temperature range. For the flat Kerr cells containing the polymer-stabilized blue phase, micro-second optical switching was demonstrated. The achievements can contribute toward providing new flat-panel liquid crystal displays with high speed response and without rubbing process in the fabrication.