Optically induced space-charge fields, dc voltage, and extraordinarily large nonlinearity in dye-doped nematic liquid crystals

We have observed extraordinarily large optical nonlinearity in Methyl Red-doped nematic liquid-crystal film. Grating diffraction can be generated with an optical intensity as low as 40 microW/cm(2) , and a refractive-index change coefficient of more than 6 cm(2)/ W is obtained. The effect is attributed to formation of an optically induced dc space-charge field and to the resulting reorientation of the highly birefringent nematic director axis.     

Electric-field-induced steering in soliton direction of propagation in chiral nematic liquid crystals

In this work we demonstrate the properties of spatial solitary waves in chiral nematic liquid crystals with an external electric field. Such self-trapped beams, called nematicons, were created due to the optical reorientation nonlinearity for a light power of a few tens of milliwatts. We show that the direction of propagation of such nematicons can be changed by applying an external electric field. Additionally, this effect can be modified by changing the input polarization of the light beam. The experimental results were obtained in four independent guiding layers created by a chiral nematic structure.     

Theoretical study of reorientation and torque of liquid crystal molecules under influence of external electric field and experimentally generation of spatial optical soliton beam and getting a sharp switching in chiral nematic liquid crystal

Liquid crystals (LC) are anisotropic materials which experience a torque if an electric field is present. This field can be due to an external voltage or to the presence of a light beam. Reorientation due to light leads to non-linear behavior in the optical behavior. Due to this kind of nonlinearity therefore it is possible to generate optical spatial soliton beam in LC by bias voltage or without it and interestingly chiral nematic liquid crystals has a opportunity to generate spatial optical solitons without the need for a bias voltage. In this paper we also demonstrate that a sharp switching of the helix structure occurs when the spatial soliton is launched in the middle of two regions where soliton generation is favorable. Due to the optical nonlinearity, the helical structure becomes asymmetric and a sharp switching in one direction can be obtained. Moreover, in this paper, the torque and reorientation of the liquid crystal and the change in angular momentum of the light are discussed.     

Photo-excitation of space charge fields and reorientation of a nematic liquid crystal of discotic molecules

A new reorientation effect in nematic liquid crystals of discotic molecules, which occurs under the combined influence of DC-electrical and optical fields, has been observed and investigated for the first time. It is shown that an illumination with intensity as low as 10⁻³ W/cm² is sufficient for producing a strong photo-induced reorientation process which indicates a rather large nonlinear optical coefficient. The dependence of the photo-excitation on the applied voltage as well as on the intensity and the wavelength of the light wave was investigated. Furthermore, a first model, which explains the experimental observations resulting from photo-induced space charge fields and related field-induced reorientation of the discotic molecules, will be discussed.     

Light-induced instabilities driven by competing helical patterns in long-pitch cholesterics

We study theoretically the dynamical reorientation phenomena when a long-pitch cholesteric liquid-crystal film with homeotropic alignment is illuminated by a circularly polarized lightwave. In the present case, the natural cholesteric pitch is of the order of (or larger than) the film thickness. The helical cholesteric structure is thus frustrated by the boundary conditions without illumination. However, above a light intensity threshold reorientation occurs and the bifurcation scenario depends strongly on the natural cholesteric pitch. Recalling that a long-pitch cholesteric is achieved in practice by adding a small amount of chiral agents in a nematic liquid crystal, the observed dynamics can be viewed as the result of the competition between intrinsic and extrinsic unidimensional helical patterns. The intrinsic part consists of the helical deformations induced by the chirality of the dopant, whereas the extrinsic part is related to the chirality induced by the optical field through the non-uniform angular momentum transfer of light to a nematic. The all-optical analog in the case of a pure nematic (without chiral dopant), is also discussed.     

平行排列丝状液晶在超短脉冲激光激励下发生瞬态扭曲形变的最佳偏振角

利用光学相位延迟法，观察到平行排列丝状液晶在超短脉冲激光（10ns）激励下的瞬态扭曲形变.实验结果表明，虽然脉冲激光的电场强度远远大于液晶发生扭曲形变的阈值，但并不能保证液晶会发生瞬态扭曲形变.这主要是因为脉冲激光的激励时间非常短，而液晶分子发生扭曲形变的响应时间相对较长，从而使其来不及形变.分析发现：激励激光的偏振方向与平行排列丝状液晶分子的最佳夹角是45°.利用此条件，观察到掺微量D型苏氨酸卟啉的平行排列丝状液晶在超短脉冲激光激励后具有记忆效应，这在光存储和记忆显示方面有很大的实用价值.     

Convection in relatively thin layers of nematic liquid crystals

Laser-induced convective motion in thin layers (less than a millimeter) of nematic liquid crystals is investigated experimentally. It is shown that convection arising in the presence of the vertical gradient of temperature is toroidal. Velocities of convective motions in the liquid crystal are measured for two different diameters of the incident laser beam. Comparison is made of the threshold of the temperature gradient of convective motions obtained by theoretical estimations and with use of experimental parameters.     

Excitation of regular convective motions in liquids and liquid crystals by an acoustic wave

A possibility of exciting steady convective motions in isotropic and anisotropic liquids under the action of a force produced by the radiation pressure of an acoustic wave with a spatially periodic transverse intensity distribution is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Cells both with two rigid boundaries and with one free surface are studied. The flows lead to reorientation of the director of liquid crystal in the case of anisotropic liquid. As a result, it acquires a periodic distribution in the transverse plane. The phenomenon can be utilized for the imaging of acoustic fields of microwatt power.     

Orientational optical nonlinearity induced by comb-shaped polymers in a nematic liquid crystal

The effect of optical orientation in nematic liquid crystals containing small additions of high-molecular compounds, i.e., comb-shaped polymers with light-absorbing azobenzene side fragments, was studied. The effects of light-induced reorientation of the director of nematic liquid crystals caused by light absorption of polymers and a low-molecular compound with a structure similar to side fragments of the polymers were compared in detail. An explanation was proposed for large values of the orientational nonlinearity induced by polymers.     

Thermomechanical effects in uniformly aligned dye-doped nematic liquid crystals

We show theoretically that thermomechanical effects in dye-doped nematic liquid crystals when illuminated by laser beams, can become important and lead to molecular reorientation at intensities substantially lower than that needed for optical Fréedericksz transition. We propose a 1D model that assumes homogenous intensity distribution in the plane of the layer and is capable to describe such a thermally induced threshold lowering. We consider a particular geometry, with a linearly polarized light incident perpendicularly on a layer of homeotropically aligned dye-doped nematics.     

Plasmon electro-optic effect in a subwavelength metallic nanograting with a nematic liquid crystal

The electro-optic effect in hybrid structures based on subwavelength metallic nanogratings in contact with a layer of a nematic liquid crystal has been experimentally studied. Metallic gratings are fabricated in the form of interdigitated electrodes, which makes it possible to use them not only as optical elements but also for the production of an electric field in a thin surface region of the layer of the liquid crystal. It has been shown that, owing to the electric-field-induced reorientation of molecules of the liquid crystal near the surface of the grating, it is possible to significantly control the spectral features of the transmission of light, which are caused by the excitation of surface plasmons. The electro-optic effect is superfast for liquid crystal devices because a change in the optical properties of the system requires the reorientation of molecules only in a very thin surface layer of the liquid crystal.     

The orientational mechanism of nonlinearity and the self-focusing of He-Ne laser radiation in nematic liquid crystal mesophase (theory and experiment)

A giant optical nonlinearity of self-focusing type in the oriented mesophase of nematic liquid crystals (NLC) due to the director reorientation under the action of a light wave field is predicted. Self-focusing of He-Ne laser radiation with power ～10^?2 W and power density ～50 W/cm² in a planar oriented 60 μm thick NLC layer has been carried out experimentally. The measured value of the nonlinearity effective constant ?₂ = 0.07 cm³/erg corresponds to theoretical predictions, and turns out to be larger than the CS₂ nonlinearity by ? 10⁹ times.     

Thermally enhanced optical nonlinearity in nematic liquid crystal close to phase transition temperature

This study investigates the beam profile and the liquid crystal (LC) arrangement affected by an optical field on LC thin films at a temperature close to nematic-isotropic phase transition temperature (T_NI). A combined microscopic and conoscopic technique was used in experiments as a convenient way to analyze the optical nonlinearity that is associated with the molecular configuration of nematic liquid crystal (NLC). An optical field combined with thermal enhancement enhances molecular reorientation and causes additional molecular excitation along the axis of propagation of the beam. The reorientational nonlinearity yields an undulating structure with multi-foci; the length between each pair of foci increases with time, as described.     

Biphotonic effect of azo-dye-doped liquid crystals using the sequential Z-scan technique

This study investigates the biphotonic effect of azo-dye-doped liquid crystals (ADDLCs) using the sequential Z-scan technique. A spot on the sample is illuminated by a green light for 6 s, and then the same spot is illuminated simultaneously with a red light and a green light for 6 s. Measurements are made by scanning the sample near the beam waist of the green laser. The results show that the biphotonic effect is important to the nonlinear coefficient of the sample. The variations of the optical Kerr constant with intensity of red light are measured. Measurement results demonstrate that the molecular reorientation of liquid crystals induced by the photoisomerization of the azo dyes dominates at low red-light intensity, but the thermal effect compensates for the molecular reorientational nonlinearity of the sample at high red-light intensity.     

The effect of phototautomerism on the nonlinearity of the liquid crystals

The nonlinearity of hydroxy-azo dye doped liquid crystals is investigated and the effect of tautomerism is considered. The results indicate that, the nonlinearity of guest-host system can be affected by control of phototautomerism and incident light modulation. In special conditions, the variation of nonlinearity can be stable, so it can generate a stable refractive index pattern because of the optical reorientation of liquid crystal molecules.     

Light-induced thermomechanical effect as a new mechanism of orientational optical nonlinearity in liquid crystals

A laser-induced thermomechanical effect in twist-aligned nematic liquid crystals has been revealed and experimentally studied. It has been proved that the nature of this phenomenon is orientational rather than diffraction. It has been shown that the orientational optical nonlinearity resulting from this effect can be as strong as the well-known giant optical nonlinearity. Moreover, giant optical nonlinearity does not exist at normal incidence of the laser beam, whereas thermomechanical nonlinearity remains of the same order of magnitude at any angle of incidence of the beam.     

Experimental observation of speckle instability in Kerr random media

In a disordered nonlinear medium the transmitted speckle pattern was predicted to become unstable as a result of the positive feedback between intensity fluctuations and local variations of the refractive index. We show experimental evidence of speckle instability for light transversally scattered in a liquid crystal cell, where a two-dimensional controlled disorder is imprinted by suitable illumination of a photoconductive wall and nonlinearity is obtained through optical reorientation of the liquid crystal molecules. The speckle pattern spontaneously oscillates at discrete frequencies above a critical threshold, whose dependence on the scattering mean free path confirms the crucial role of disorder in the feedback process.     

Onset of parametric electroconvection in a nematic liquid crystal

The behavior of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) in an external ac electric field is studied in terms of the weak electrolyte model. Since electroconvection of certain types of NLCs can occur in a constant field in an oscillatory mode, a quasi-periodic response of a nematic to the external action is possible in an ac field, as well as a sharp reduction of the electroconvective stability thresholds at resonance frequencies. Stability maps for NLCs are plotted on the plane of amplitude-frequency parameters of the external field. Phase portraits are constructed for subharmonic and synchronous perturbations. The optical response of a NLC in the ac electric field is studied; the time dependences of the relative intensity of light, which passed through the nematic liquid crystal cell, are obtained.     

Optical nonlinearity in thin films exposed to low-intensity light

Optical nonlinearity in semiconducting and insulating thin-film structures is studied by waveguide methods under self-action conditions at a light intensity less than 0.1 W/cm² and a wavelength of 630 nm. The optical properties vs. light intensity are similar for semiconducting and insulating films, multilayer thin-film structures, and semiconductor-doped glass films. It is demonstrated that the optical nonlinearity and the nonlinear optical constants depend on the interface condition.     

Nonexponential nuclear spin-lattice relaxation in the isotropic phase of thermotropic liquid crystals

In the isotropic phase of nematic and smectic liquid crystals T₁ of CH3 and chain protons is larger than that of ring and ring-neighboured protons being caused by fast CH₃ reorientation and internal motions in chains, respectively.