HIGH-RESOLUTION POLARIZATION GRATINGS IN LIQUID-CRYSTALS

Efficient recording of polarization gratings in dye-doped liquid cryst als is reported. By exploiting the effect of light-induced anchoring o f the molecular director, it has been possible to write stable hologra phic gratings with a diffraction efficiency of 8% at a resolution of 1 000 lines/mm. The required surface energy density of 0.3 J/cm(2) sets these materials among the most sensitive for optical storage. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(97)03751-0].