Abstract

The birefringence behavior of liquid crystals ( LCs) is well known and extensive utilized for the modulation of visible and infrared beams. However, knowledge of the dielectric and electro-optic properties of the LCs in millimeter and sub-millimeter frequency region of has remained incomplete. Terahertz (THz) time-domain spectroscopy, together with its unique time-resolved feature and high signal-to-noise ratio, has be-come a powerful tool for studying the electromagnetic properties of materials in the millimeter and submillimeter frequency region. ¹² • In this paper, we present the experimental results of the refractive indices of nematic LCs 5 CB and a preliminary result of electrically controlled birefringence.

© 2002 Optical Society of America