title: Holographic diffraction gratings using polymer-dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystals.
abstract: By controlling the morphology of holographic polymer-dispersed ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs), highly aligned FLC domains are obtained for diffractive optical applications. Rapid, thresholdless switching is observed for various grating pitch sizes between approximately 3 and approximately 12 microm. A simple phenomenological model is presented encompassing a distribution of domain sizes and an effective field that stabilizes the FLC domains to reflect the observed thresholdless switching and optical behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Division of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Scott J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Woltman
authors.forename: James N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Eakin
authors.forename: Gregory P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zumer