Static and dynamic properties of optical second harmonic generation in ferroelectric liquid crystal

Abstract

Abstract The second harmonic generation (SHG) in the ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) has been studied as functions of electric field strength, sample thickness, rotating angle, temperature and molecular structure. A sharp angular phase-matching curve of the SHG controlled by an electric field is observed even in the liquid crystal. The temperature dependences of the phase-matched SHG and Maker fringe in the ferroelectric phase have also been studied and nonlinear optical coefficients are obtained as a function of temperature. The SHG in several kinds of FLCs is measured in the Sm C* and crystalline phase. Anomalous temperature dependence of the SHG is also observed in DOBA-1-MPC.