title: Colossal optical nonlinearity induced by a low frequency external electric field in dye-doped liquid crystals.
abstract: We report on the effects of a low-frequency electric field on the optical nonlinear response of thin dye-doped liquid crystal cells. Experimental data show that the external field allows reaching extremely high values of the optical nonlinearity without any critical control of the cell interfaces. A qualitative interpretation of the collected data, based on the light-induced modulation of the bulk voltage through surface modifications, is proposed.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lucchetti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gentili
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simoni