3A13 Holographic Gratings Formed in Homeotropic Cells of Polymer Azobenzene Liquid Crystals

Abstract

Photoinduced formation of the grating in homeotropic thick cells of a polymer azobenzene liquid crystal (PALC) was explored. Lippmann-type hologram was recorded with linearly polarized beams of an Ar^+ laser at 488 nm. Upon photoirradiation, the diffracted light based on the Bragg diffraction gradually appeared. It was found that the maximum diffraction efficiency of about 40 % was obtained by 1-h photoirradiation and the resulting fringe spacing was estimated as about 160 nm.