title: Self-activated liquid-crystal cells with photovoltaic substrates.
abstract: We show that photovoltaic fields are capable of efficiently reorienting liquid crystals, leading to new concepts of optically addressable light modulators. Using an arrangement consisting of a liquid-crystal layer between LiNbO3:Fe photovoltaic substrates, we observed spatial filtering due to self-phase modulation in a planar-oriented cell and nonlinear transmission between crossed polarizers in a twist-oriented cell. These processes do not require an external electric field. The substrates are arranged such that light propagates along the +c axis in each substrate, allowing a secondary process of power transfer to occur through contradirectional photorefractive two-beam coupling.
authors.affiliation: Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Carns
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Mohammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Saleh
authors.forename: Svetlana V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Serak
authors.forename: Nelson V
authors.initials: NV
authors.lastname: Tabiryan
authors.forename: Dean R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Evans