Talbot assisted hexagonal beam patterning in a thin liquid crystal film with a single feedback mirror at negative distance

Abstract

We investigate experimentally the generation of hexagonal patterns of filaments in a laser beam traversing a thin liquid crystal cell placed in front of a single ‘‘virtual mirror.’’ This mirror is the image of a real mirror and is placed either in front of or behind the cell. The results clearly support the physical idea that the Talbot effect governs the phenomenon. Edge effects due to the limited width of the pump beam are accounted for both theoretically and experimentally.