Recording of thin phase holograms in polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal composites based on fullerene-containing pi-conjugated organic systems

The recording of thin phase holograms in promising fullerene-containing, po lymer-dispersed liquid-crystal composites based on 2-cyclooctylamino-5-nitr opyridine and N-(4-nitrophenyl)-(L)-prolinol using picosecond laser pulses is studied for the first time. The anisotropy of the refractive index subst antially increases after laser irradiation and exceeds by a factor of five this anisotropy for liquid-crystal cells containing dyes. The results of ou r studies suggest that the fullerene-containing, polymer-dispersed liquid-c rystal systems can be used as passive media for reversible data recording. (C) 2001 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".