Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Novel Techniques for Observing Structural Dynamics of Photoresponsive Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 29, 2018
Stochastic photorefractive backscattering from LiNbO(3) crystals
Abstract:
Our experiment shows that stimulated backscattering from photorefractive LiNbO(3):Fe crystals occurs not only for an orientation of the polar axis that is parallel to the input beam but also for the opposite orientation, in which the spatial amplification of seed scattering through pi/2-shifted gratings is impossible. In the latter case scattering exhibits pronounced noise properties. We show analytically and numerically that the observed regularities are explained by a model including a source of low-frequency temporal noise for the space-charge field and a strong photovoltaic effect.
Related Concept Videos
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Determination of Crystal Structures

