Abstract: A cold-cathode, plasma discharge modulator switch is disclosed. A crossed-field discharge plasma supplied charge carriers for the switch. A dc magnetic field is employed to provide a highly localized cusp magnetic field near the cathode, so that gas ionization occurs primarily in the cathode-source grid gap. The region between the cathode and anode is filled with a relatively low pressure gas. A highly transparent control grid with small apertures is closely spaced from the anode. The switch is closed through application of positive potential (relative to the plasma) to the control grid, and opened through application of negative potential relative to the plasma to the control grid. The application of negative potential to the control grid creates an ion sheath around the control grid which permits plasma cut-off to the anode region provided the sheath size is larger than the control grid aperture radius.

Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid crystal light valve pixel driver circuit comprising a pair of power electrodes, a pair of half-pixel electrodes, each half-pixel electrode being associated with a respective one of the power electrodes and a transistor switch for selectively conductively interconnecting the pair of half-pixel electrodes, the transistor switch being responsive to an applied data voltage potential. A strobe transistor and capacitor are further associated with the driver circuit to enable the demultiplexing of data from a data line and the transfer of a data representing voltage potential to the capacitor for application to the transistor switch.