PHASE MODULATOR FOR MODULATING LIGHT INTERACTING WITH THE PHASE MODULATOR

摘要

The present invention relates to a phase modulator (1) for modulating the phase of circularly polarized light interacting with a phase modulator (1). Such a phase modulator 1 comprises a liquid crystal layer 5 having first and second substrates 2 and 3, an electrode array 4 and liquid crystal molecules 6. The first substrate 2 is disposed opposite to the second substrate 3. The liquid crystal layer 5 may be disposed between the two substrates 2 and 3. The first substrate 2 has a first surface 7 and the second substrate 3 has a second surface 8. The first surface 7 is formed to orient the liquid crystal molecules 6 adjacent to the first surface 7 in a direction substantially parallel to the first surface 7. The second surface 8 is formed to orient the liquid crystal molecules 6 adjacent to the second surface 8 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second surface 8. The electrode array 4 can be controlled such that the infra-red component of the liquid crystal molecular orientation can be set in an angular range of about 180 degrees to a mid-orientation that can be predetermined, e.g., between -90 degrees and +90 degrees. The invention also relates to a display for displaying two-dimensional and / or three-dimensional image content.