Optical Field Induced Scattering in Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal Films

Abstract

Abstract Polymer dispersed liquid crystals are composite materials consisting of inclusions of liquid crystalline materials dispersed in a polymer binder. If the refractive indices of the constituent liquid crystal and polymer are appropriately matched, then films of these materials may be switched between an optically scattering state and a non–scattering transparent state1−2 by the application of electric fields which reorient the liquid crystal in the inclusions. In this paper we discuss the response of these materials to intense laser radiation, and examine the mechanisms associated with optical field induced reorientation.