Electro-optic switching in low-loss liquid-crystal waveguides

Observation of low-loss optical guidance in thin films of a number of well-aligned nematic liquid crystals is reported for the first time. Evaluation of waveguiding properties of the oriented films and polarized microscopic techniques indicates a high degree of alignment can be attained and, indeed, is essential for good waveguiding. Propagation losses in the best samples are measured to be less than 1 dB/cm. Amplitude modulation and switching in these waveguides have also been achieved using the unique electro-optic properties of nematic materials. The response times for these phenomena are on the order of a few milliseconds.