Optical nonlinearity originating in photothermal effects in guest-host liquid crystals (GHLC’s), which caused self-phase modulation in the GHLC’s, was characterized by use of heat-conduction analysis. The refractive-index distributions that are due to the photothermal optical nonlinearity in the GHLC’s were determined by two different methods. One method (approach 1) is analytical solution of Kirchhoff’s diffraction integral including the higher-order nonlinear phase distribution. Another method (approach 2) is to start by analytical solution of a heat-conducting equation. The refractive-index distributions determined from approach 1 were in good agreement with those from approach 2, and the physical origin of the higher-order optical nonlinearity caused by the photothermal effects in the GHLC’s is discussed.

© 1999 Optical Society of America

[Optical Society of America ]

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

Related Journal Articles

• Second-harmonic generation in nonpolar chiral materials: relationship between molecular and macroscopic properties (JOSAB)
• Electrochromic blueshift in polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal cells (OL)
• Tunable Bragg peak response in liquid-crystal-infiltrated photonic crystals (JOSAB)
• Theory and experimental studies of all-optical transmission switching in a twist-alignment dye-doped nematic liquid crystal (JOSAB)
• Simple way for achieving passive all-optical switching of continuous waves lasers using pure nematic liquid crystal (AO)

Related Conference Papers

• Efficient and Broadband Picosecond Stimulated Raman Scattering in KTiOPO4
• Efficient All-Solid-State Optical Parametric Oscillator for the Visible Based on Periodically-Poled Stoichiometric LiTaO3
• Study of RTP Crystal Used as Electro-Optic Modulator
• Design of Polar Organic Liquid Crystalline Thin Films
• Second-harmonic generation in nonpolar chiral materials: relationship between molecular and macroscopic properties
• Second-harmonic generation in nonpolar chiral materials: relationship between molecular and macroscopic properties