The present invention provides liquid crystal devices comprised of a composite of an internal polymer network localized on the substrate surfaces and short-pitch dual-frequency switchable cholesteric liquid crystal that operate in two different modes including in-plane switching (amplitude modulation) and out-of-plane switching (phase modulation). The invention further provides a method of making a liquid crystal device demonstrating uniform lying helical axis where the device comprises a composite of an internal spatially ordered polymer network localized by in-situ photo-polymerization at the surface of the substrate. The invention can be used for flat panel displays, as well as spatial light modulators for applications such as optical waveguides, optical beam scanners, computer-generated holograms, and adaptive optics.