• Precision control at lower cost
• Scalable quantities (minimum order of 20)
• Thin housing
• Large clear aperture
• Usable from 450 to 1800 nm

Meadowlark Optics provides a small, mounted liquid crystal family of products intended for space-constrained or OEM applications.  By removing the temperature control circuitry, the overall dimensions of the housing can be significantly reduced.  For even tighter mechanical constraints, un-mounted cells are also available with flying leads or custom connectors.

A Liquid Crystal Variable Retarder (LCVR, also called a phase retarder or rotator) is a liquid crystal-filled waveplate device placed in the light path of an optical system to allow its electronic modulation, by phase retardation or rotation of the plane of polarization. LCVRs are filled with a solution of nematic liquid crystal (LC) molecules which rotate the plane of polarization of transmitted light. Two transparent conductive films allow an AC voltage to be applied across the optics cell. As the voltage is increased, the default orientation of the LC molecules is disrupted, changing the degree of rotation or optical phase retardation of transmitted polarized light.