Patent ID: 11927863
Assignee: COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 11:
12. A method for addressing a light beam phase modulation device, the addressing device comprising a matrix of elementary cells, called pixels, coupled to an addressing circuit for said pixels, each elementary cell comprising a liquid crystal layer (CL) and, on either side of said liquid crystal layer, at least one first electrode (ELP) called pixel electrode controlled by a control transistor coupled to said addressing circuit, and a second electrode (EL2) that is transparent and common to all the cells, the liquid crystal being composed of molecules that have a natural orientation of rest in a plane of said layer in a so-called horizontal alignment direction (Xa) oriented along a so-called horizontal row of pixels, and in the absence of voltage between the pixel electrode and the second electrode, and another orientation outside of said plane of said layer, in the presence of voltage between the pixel electrode and the second electrode, called activation voltage (Vacc), the device further comprising a set of so-called lateral electrodes extending in a so-called vertical direction (Y) at right angles to said alignment direction (Xa) and disposed on a same plane as the pixel electrode, the method comprising:
an activation phase wherein, for each pixel, said activation voltage is applied,
an accelerated relaxation phase wherein, for each pixel, a so-called acceleration voltage (Vacc) is applied, via at least two lateral electrodes, generating a lateral electrical field (Era) substantially parallel to said alignment direction, in a vector allowing an accelerated return of the liquid crystal molecules to their orientation of rest, said acceleration voltage being applied when the activation voltage is no longer applied.