Persistent director axis reorientation is induced in a liquid crystal film in response to a projected optical image by a method that includes the following steps: applying adc potential across the liquid crystal film; exposing the liquid crystal film to a spatially varying optical intensity which, in combination with the dc potential, produces a spatially varying dc current flow and a spatial charge field in accordance with the intensity variation of an optical image, the spatial charge field resulting in persistent refractive index changes in the liquid crystal film; and removing the dc potential and spatially varying optical intensity. To retrieve the image that is "stored" in the liquid crystal film, the liquid material is illuminated with a monochromatic optical beam. With certain liquid crystal films, reapplication of the dc potential combined, application of the optical illumination results in retrieval of the stored optical image.
展开▼
