Optimized overdriving technique for high-speed and high-precision optical modulation in liquid crystal devices

High-speed and high-precision dynamic optical modulation remains challenging in applications such as polarimetric imaging and adaptive optics. Although the overdriving (OD) technique can improve the response speed of liquid crystal (LC) devices, it inherently induces optical bounce (OB), which severely limits phase modulation precision. We reveal that this OB originates from an interlayer angular velocity mismatch among LC molecules. By precisely controlling the overdriving duration, the optimized overdriving (OOD) technique ensures unidirectional relaxation of the LC molecules, ultimately suppressing reverse phase fluctuations. Experimental results demonstrate that for the specific gray-level transitions required in polarimetric imaging applications, the OOD technique reduces response time by up to 84.9% compared to the OD technique, thereby enabling rapid phase transitions while maintaining high polarimetric imaging accuracy. This approach offers a straightforward electrical-control strategy for high-speed and high-precision dynamic optical modulation without adding hardware complexity.