Polarization and switching properties of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal gratings II Experimental investigations

Abstract

We have performed a detailed study of the polarization properties and switching behavior of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal gratings. A theoretical model [ R. L. Sutherland , J. Opt. Soc. Am. B19, 2995 (2002)] is compared with a number of observed phenomena in reflection and transmission gratings made with different types of liquid crystals under a variety of experimental conditions. Anomalous polarization effects are described and interpreted. We show that a wide variation of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal grating properties can be explained in terms of the statistics of droplet orientational distributions.