High Contrast Optical Shutter
KEY FEATURES
- High contrast
- No mechanical motion
- Computer control capacity
- No vibration
DESCRIPTION
Our liquid crystal shutter uses twisted nematic liquid crystals to provide a vibration-free mechanical shutter alternative. The twisted nematic liquid crystal switches between a state that rotates the input polarization by 90° with no voltage applied and a state that makes no change in the input polarization with 8 to 10 volts applied. The applied voltage is a 2 kHz AC square-wave. The shutter is supplied with integral dichroic visible polarizers to provide an average extinction ratio of better than 1,000:1. Custom shutters with larger aperture sizes and with wavelength coverage to 2.1 microns are available on a custom basis.
| Specifications - High Contrast Optical Shutters | |
| Liquid Crystal Configuation | Twisted nematic |
| Substrate Material | Optical quality synthetic fused silica |
| Polarizer Material | Dichroic polymer |
| Wavelength Range | 450-1800 nm |
| Contrast Ratio (average) | 1,000:1 |
| Acceptance Angle | 25˚ incidence angle with some reduction above 10˚ |
| Switching Time (10% to 90% at room temperature) | |
|
Closed to open: Open to closed: |
5 milliseconds 0.4 milliseconds |
| Transmitted Wavefront Distortion | ≤ λ/2 |
| Surface Quality (scratch-dig) | 60-40 |
| Beam Deviation | ≤ 5 arc min |
| Reflectance (per surface) | ≤ 0.5% at normal incidence |
| Laser Damage Threshold | 1 W/cm2, CW |
| Glass Thickness | 0.48-0.52 in. |
| Polarization Direction | Vertical on input face, horizontal on output face |
| Storage Temperature | -20˚C to +80˚C |
| Operating Temperature | 0˚C to +50˚C |
| Ordering Information - High Contrast Optical Shutters | |||
|
Clear Aperture in. [mm] |
Diameter ± 0.005 in. [± 0.13 mm] |
Thickness in. [mm] |
Part Number |
|
0.37 [9.4] |
Ø1.00 [Ø25.4] |
1.23 [31.2] |
LCS-100 |
|
0.70 [17.8] |
Ø2.00 [Ø50.8] |
0.75 [19.1] |
LCS-200 |
|
1.60 [40.6] |
Ø3.00 [Ø76.2] |
1.00 [25.4] |
LCS-300 |
