Photorefractivity of Mixtures of a Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal and Photoconductive Polymers

The photorefractive properties of mixtures of a ferroelectric liquid crystal and photoconductive polymers were investigated by two-beam coupling experiments. A photorefractive effect based on reorientation of spontaneous polarization was induced in these mixtures. Asymmetric energy exchange was observed in the Bragg diffraction condition and gain coefficients of 10–15 cm^-1 were obtained. It was found that the internal electric field was efficiently formed in polymer/FLC mixtures.