on the potential applied to the EOM.

The voltage required for inducing a phase change of is called the half-wave voltage (). For a Pockels cell, it is usually hundreds or even thousands of volts, so that a high-voltage amplifier is required. Suitable electronic circuits can switch such large voltages within a few nanoseconds, allowing the use of EOMs as fast optical switches.

Liquid-crystal devices are electro-optical phase modulators if no polarizers are used.

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