Enhanced Nonlinear Optical Effect in Hybrid Liquid Crystal Cells Based on Photonic Crystal

Nonlinear-optical response of photorefractive hybrid liquid crystal (LC) cells has been studied by means of dynamic holographic technique in two-wave mixing arrangement. The LC cells include nonuniform silicon substrates comprising a micrometer-range photonic crystal. A thin LC layer is set between silicon substrate and a flat glass substrate covered by a transparent (ITO) electrode. A dynamic diffraction grating was induced in the LC volume by the two-wave mixing of laser beams with simultaneous application of DC electric field to the cell. Theoretical model of Raman-Nath self-diffraction was developed. This model allows for calculation of nonlinear optical characteristics in thin samples on the base of two-wave mixing experimental data, and with taking into account light losses on absorption and/or scattering. The hybrid LC cells demonstrate strong nonlinear optical effect, prospective for many applications in electro-optical microsystems, such as SLMs, as well as in multi-channel systems.