Influence of additional electric field on the birefringence of a nematic liquid crystal

Influence of the longitudinal voltage applied along the semiconductor substrate of a planar-oriented liquid crystal cell on the birefringence of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) was investigated. It is shown that for a fixed magnitude of the transverse field the application of a longitudinal voltage creates an additional possibility to control the electro-optically induced phase incursion of the radiation passing through NLC. Dependence of the phase incursion on the control voltages is obtained. The results of simulation of the longitudinal voltage effect on the NLC reorientation are described. The obtained results can be used in development and designing of NLC phase modulators.