  Nematic liquid crystals exhibit a fast optical response when the applied
electric field modifies the degree of order but does not change the direction
of molecular orientation. The effect requires a relatively high electric field,
on the order of 10^8 V/m for a field induced birefringence change of 0.01. To
address this detrimental issue, this work explores electrically induced
modification of the order parameter in a material with a giant dielectric
anisotropy of +200. A relatively weak field 3X10^7 V/m causes a significant
change of birefringence, by about 0.04. Both switching on and off times are ~10
microseconds. The effect is called a microsecond electrically modified order
parameter (MEMOP) and can be used in electro-optical devices, such as fast
electro-optic shutters, phase modulators, and beam-steerers that require
microsecond response times.
