Abstract
Abstract Transient optical nonlinearities in dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystals are investigated with laser-induced dynamic grating experiments using nanosecond and picosecond excitation pulses. Selfdiffraction efficiencies of the induced optical gratings up to more than 10% have been observed. Grating buildup and decay are investigated by diffraction of a cw laser beam. The observed nonlinearities are explained in terms of fast electronic effects occuring in the dye-molecules as a primary process, and slower secondary processes connected with thermal gratings arising from radiationless recombination of excited molecules, which change the optical properties of the liquid crystalline host.
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