ABSTRACT Polymer‐stabilized liquid crystals (PSLCs) offer fast switching speeds and mechanical stability for next‐generation electro‐optical (EO) devices, yet their reliability under high‐power laser irradiation remains a critical challenge. Here, we systematically investigate physical damage features induced by the laser irradiation both qualitatively and quantitatively. These analyses provide direct evidence for validating the simulation models and offer insights into the failure mechanisms of laser‐induced damage in PSLCs with varying formulas. Through the morphological characterizations, we reveal two dominant damage morphologies: a crack‐shaped pattern at lower laser fluence (∼2 J/cm 2 ) and a seal‐like pattern at higher fluence (3–7 J/cm 2 ). Statistical analysis and correlation heatmaps indicate that, to a point, increasing reactive monomer concentration from 3% to 5% improves the average damage threshold by 1.8 J/cm 2 . Monté Carlo simulations based on heat conduction and Markov chain successfully corroborated experimental damage morphology and possible evolution, highlighting the role of thermal accumulation and polymer network anisotropy in a damage‐pattern formation. Specially, simulations employing an anisotropic thermal transport model reproduced the observed transition from crack‐like to seal‐like morphologies. These findings provide mechanistic insights into laser‐induced damage threshold (LIDT) in PSLCs and suggest pathways to engineer robust, laser‐resistant liquid crystal devices for advanced high power photonic applications.
Chen et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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