Abstract

We have studied a new heterogeneous liquid-crystalline material where H-bonded polymer–azo-dye complexes are used as dopants to the liquid crystal (LC) bulk at a very low concentration. Double enhancement of the holographic gratings’ diffraction efficiency occurred in the complex-doped LC compared to dye-doped LC. The grating formation/relaxation processes in complex-doped LC showed anomalies that were explained by the presence of polymer with H bonds. The gratings appeared to be formed due to a change of both the absorption coefficient and refractive index. Using such complexes as dopants gives perspectives for tuning and control of the LC properties, and for possible optical applications.

© 2014 Optical Society of America

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