Laser-addressed liquid crystal light valve with dichroic dye added as a laser beam absorber

Abstract
A dichroic dye was added to smectic A liquid crystals as an absorber of laser energy to eliminate the need to conduct heat from an external absorber to the liquid crystal layer. It was found that the dichroic ratio of the added dye is an important factor in the recording mechanism of the liquid crystal. The resolution of the written image was improved by doping with a dye having a large dichroic ratio.