the invention is directed to liquid crystal display and electro - optical devices having faster switching times , a wider viewing angle , continuous gray level , improved transmittance of the clear state , approximately no threshold voltage and low power consumption . the aspects of the invention are achieved by a liquid crystal device comprising an orthogonal nematic , smectic or columnar liquid crystal phase , which is uniaxial in absence of electric field , but becomes biaxial when electric field is applied normal to the director . this electric field induced biaxiality mode is provided using any dielectric orthogonal nematic , smectic or columnar bent - core liquid crystal phase . the nature of the switching is dielectric and does not involve variation of layer spacing variation , so as to be mechanically much more stable than prior systems . the high switching speed combined with a large change in the effective birefringence and constant optical axis of the liquid crystal materials provide useful features in various applications , such as liquid crystal television , beam steering , spatial light modulators , and a variety of other applications .