Liquid crystal media for electron beam recording

A new concept for a recording device providing real-time multicolor images is demonstrated using liquid crystal materials which exhibit color changes resulting from changes in the impressed electrostatic field. Signal intensities are presented as colors rather than as optical densities, with red corresponding to the lowest level and blue corresponding to the highest signal level. Using an appropriate liquid crystal medium, electron beam recording with subsequent storage, optical readout, and electron beam erasure are demonstrated with the achievement of the following characteristics: 1) resolution and contrast steps are equal to those obtained from a Vidicon 2) storage times of minutes are shown 3) writing and erasing are accomplished in one television frame, or 1/30 second.