Abstract
Owing to the nonlinear effect of optical field-induced director reorientation, self-focusing of an optical beam can occur in nematic liquid crystals and an almost diffraction-compensated propagation can be observed with milliwatts of light power and propagation lengths of several millimeters. This opens the way for applications in all-optical signal handling and reconfigurable optical interconnections. Self-focusing of an optical beam in nematic liquid-crystal cells has been studied experimentally and by means of numerical simulation. The relationships between bias voltage, cell thickness and required optical power have been examined, thus allowing the determination of the most favorable conditions for soliton-like beam propagation.
Highlights
In the nonlinear regime of optical materials, the index of refraction may change due to the presence of an optical field
In soliton regime the propagation distance of the beam is essentially limited by absorption and scattering of the light in the liquid crystal, but other mechanisms, such as the loss of polarization of the beam, are possible
In this paper we reported on a numerical and experimental investigation of optimal conditions for soliton-beam propagation in planar cells of nematic liquid crystals
Summary
In the nonlinear regime of optical materials, the index of refraction may change due to the presence of an optical field. When the refractive index increases with increasing optical field, the beam undergoes a self-induced lensing effect and self-focusing occurs. Spatial optical solitons (SOS) appear when the self-focusing effect balances the diffraction of the beam [1]. Due to the torque induced by the optical field, the average orientation of the molecules changes and yields a nonlinear effect called optical fieldinduced director reorientation. This effect is similar to the switching of LC molecules in display applications, where a DC field is used to reorient the molecules
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