[en] Polymer-stabilized blue phase liquid crystal displays based on the Kerr effect are emerging due to their submillisecond response time, wide view and simple fabrication process. However, the conventional in-plane switching device exhibits a relatively high operating voltage because the electric fields are restricted in the vicinity of the electrode surface. To overcome this technical barrier, we propose a partitioned wall-shaped electrode configuration so that the induced birefringence is uniform between electrodes throughout the entire cell gap. Consequently, the operating voltage is reduced by ∼ 2.8x with two transistors. The responsible physical mechanisms are explained.

[en] The electro-optic response of a carbon nanotube (CNT) cluster has been investigated. The cluster absorbs incident light before stretching. In the presence of an electric field, the cluster starts stretching along the field direction and contracts back to its original stage when the applied voltage is removed. The stretched cluster absorbs and transmits incident light with its electric vector propagating parallel and perpendicular to the long axis of the stretched cluster, respectively. Utilizing this selective light absorption property of a CNT cluster, a tunable polarizer or non-emissive light modulator can be realized.