The approaches to obtaining desired intensity or phase modulation by twisted-nematic liquid crystal display (TN-LCD) have been extensively studied based on the knowledge of the LCD’s internal structure parameters. Generally, the TN-LCD placed between two linear polarizers (P) produces coupled intensity and phase modulation. To obtain the commonly used phase-only modulation, quarter wave plates (QWPs) are often used in front of and/or behind the LCD. Here we present a method to optimize the optical modulation properties of the TN-LCD to obtain phase-only modulation in the configuration of P-QWP-LCD-QWP-P each with proper orientation. Our method is based on the macroscopical Jones matrix descriptions for the LCD, the QWPs, and the linear polarizers. Through Jones matrix calculations, the orientations of the polarizers and QWPs can be optimized to satisfy differently desired modulation demands. In contrast to the traditional method, which requires knowledge of the LCD’s internal structure parameters, our method simplified the complicated theory analysis and can work in the absence of information on the LCD’s internal structure parameters, which are usually not available for the commercial products.
