title: All-optical switching in a nematic liquid crystal twist cell.
abstract: Continuous wave photorefractive-like all-optical switching was demonstrated using a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell composed of the liquid crystal 5CB (4-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl) with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) aligning layers. The nonlinear optical effect involved is due to optical control of surface charge on the polyvinyl alcohol alignment layer. The cell exhibits strong optical control of the Friedericksz transition by an argon ion laser. A mechanism is proposed involving the modulation of the charge double layer by photoinduced charge. Optical limiting in the milliwatt range was observed.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merlin
authors.forename: Elysa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Winkler
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Singer
authors.forename: Platon
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Korneychuk
authors.forename: Yuri
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Reznikov