Polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal holographic gratings doped with a high-dielectic-anisotropy dopant

The first-order diffraction efficiency of holographic gratings formed in po lymer-dispersed liquid-crystal (PDLC) films doped with a high-dielectric-an isotropy compound, HRL-410, were investigated. PDLC films doped with variou s HRL-410 concentrations were used to write gratings under different laser powers. By conducting a light-scattering study using a single Ar+ laser bea m to excite the sample while probing with a He-Ne laser, we found that the dielectric material increases the rate of polymerization, which in turn aff ects the formation and the resultant morphology of the grating. The voltage required for switching the grating decreases significantly for the doped f ilms. We propose a model to explain these experimental observations.