Diffraction gratings written in films of nematic liquid crystals doped with multiwall carbon nanotubes were investigated by measurements of exponential beam-coupling coefficients. These phase gratings were induced by the interference modulation of two coherent optical beams, in conjunction with an externally applied dc field. Systematic and consistent results of the gain properties indicate that the observed coherent-beam amplification depends strongly on the pump-to-probe intensity ratio.

© Optical Society of America

1. R. Saito, G. Dresselhaus and M. S. Dresselhaus, Physical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes (Imperial College Press, London 1998).
2. P. Photinos, "Physical Properties" in Liquid Crystals: Experimental Study of Physical Properties and Phase Transitions, S. Kumar, ed. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2001), pp. 95-154.
3. W. Lee and C.-S. Chiu, "Observation of self-diffraction by gratings in nematic liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes," Opt. Lett. 26, 521-523 (2001). [CrossRef]
4. W. Lee and S.-L. Yeh, "Optical amplification in nematics doped with carbon nanotubes," Appl. Phys. Lett. 79(27), in press.
5. W. Lee, H.-Y. Chen and S.-L. Yeh, "Surface-sustained permanent gratings in nematic liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes," (unpublished).
6. P. Yeh, Introduction to Photorefractive Nonlinear Optics (Wiley, New York 1993).
7. N. V. Kukhtarev, "Kinetics of hologram recording and erasure in electrooptic crystals," Sov. Tech. Phys. Lett. 2, 438-440 (1976).
8. N. V. Kukhtarev, P. Buchhave and S. F. Lyuksyutov, "Optical and electric properties of dynamic holographic gratings with arbitrary contrast," Phys. Rev. A 55, 3133-3136 (1997). [CrossRef]
9. A. Brignon, I. Bongrand, B. Loiseaux and J.-P. Huignard, "Signal-beam amplification by two-wave mixing in a liquid-crystal light valve," Opt. Lett. 22, 1855-1857 (1997). [CrossRef]
10. I. C. Khoo and T. H. Liu, "Theory and experiments on multiwave-mixing-mediated probe-beam amplification," Phys. Rev. A 39, 4036-4044 (1989). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
11. I. C. Khoo, B. D. Guenther, M. V. Wood, P. Chen and Min-Yi Shih, "Coherent beam amplification with a photorefractive liquid crystal," Opt. Lett. 22, 1229-1231 (1997). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
12. See, for example, E. V. Degtiarev and M. A. Vorontsov, "Spatial filtering in nonlinear two-dimensional feedback systems: phase-distortion suppression," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 12, 1238-1248 (1995). [CrossRef]
13. W. Lee and Y.-L. Wang, "Evidence for holographic image storage in a fullerene-doped liquid-crystal film," Chin. J. Phys. 39, L295-L298 (2001).

Other

• R. Saito, G. Dresselhaus and M. S. Dresselhaus, Physical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes (Imperial College Press, London 1998).
• P. Photinos, "Physical Properties" in Liquid Crystals: Experimental Study of Physical Properties and Phase Transitions, S. Kumar, ed. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2001), pp. 95-154.
• W. Lee and C.-S. Chiu, "Observation of self-diffraction by gratings in nematic liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes," Opt. Lett. 26, 521-523 (2001). [CrossRef]
• W. Lee and S.-L. Yeh, "Optical amplification in nematics doped with carbon nanotubes," Appl. Phys. Lett. 79(27), in press.
• W. Lee, H.-Y. Chen and S.-L. Yeh, "Surface-sustained permanent gratings in nematic liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes," (unpublished).
• P. Yeh, Introduction to Photorefractive Nonlinear Optics (Wiley, New York 1993).
• N. V. Kukhtarev, "Kinetics of hologram recording and erasure in electrooptic crystals," Sov. Tech. Phys. Lett. 2, 438-440 (1976).
• N. V. Kukhtarev, P. Buchhave and S. F. Lyuksyutov, "Optical and electric properties of dynamic holographic gratings with arbitrary contrast," Phys. Rev. A 55, 3133-3136 (1997). [CrossRef]
• A. Brignon, I. Bongrand, B. Loiseaux and J.-P. Huignard, "Signal-beam amplification by two-wave mixing in a liquid-crystal light valve," Opt. Lett. 22, 1855-1857 (1997). [CrossRef]
• I. C. Khoo and T. H. Liu, "Theory and experiments on multiwave-mixing-mediated probe-beam amplification," Phys. Rev. A 39, 4036-4044 (1989). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• I. C. Khoo, B. D. Guenther, M. V. Wood, P. Chen and Min-Yi Shih, "Coherent beam amplification with a photorefractive liquid crystal," Opt. Lett. 22, 1229-1231 (1997). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
• See, for example, E. V. Degtiarev and M. A. Vorontsov, "Spatial filtering in nonlinear two-dimensional feedback systems: phase-distortion suppression," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 12, 1238-1248 (1995). [CrossRef]
• W. Lee and Y.-L. Wang, "Evidence for holographic image storage in a fullerene-doped liquid-crystal film," Chin. J. Phys. 39, L295-L298 (2001).

Click here to see a list of articles that cite this paper

Related Journal Articles

• Electrically controlled surface diffraction gratings in nematic liquid crystals (OL)
• Observation of self-diffraction by gratings in nematic liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes (OL)
• Nonlocal dynamic gratings and energy transfer by optical two-beam coupling in a nematic liquid crystal owing to highly sensitive photoelectric reorientation (JOSAB)
• Surface-sustained permanent gratings in nematic liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes (OE)
• Photorefractive inorganic organic polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal nanocomposite photosensitized with cadmium sulfide quantum dots (OL)

Related Conference Papers

• Photocontrolled Micro-Optical Structures in Azobenzene Liquid Crystals
• Formation of High Efficiency, Low Noise Orientational Grating in Nematic Liquid Crystal Cells under Applied AC Electric Field
• Adaptive, surface-assisted permanent gratings in nematic liquid crystals
• 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
• Spatial Solitons in Azobenzene Liquid Crystals