Spontaneous Polarization Vector Reorientation Photorefractive Effect in Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals

Abstract

The photorefractive effect of a series of low-molecular-weight ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) doped with photoconductive compounds was investigated using two-beam coupling experiments. Asymmetric energy exchange was observed only in the ferroelectric phase, and the refractive index formation time was found to be 〜30 ms, which is faster than that of nematic photorefractive LCs. These results indicate that the mechanism of the photorefractive effect in FLCs is different from that in nematic LCs. The photorefractivity of a photoconductive polymer and FLC mixture was also investigated, and the effects of temperature, the strength of the applied electric field and spontaneous polarization on the diffraction efficiency were examined.