Polymer-Dispersed Liquid-Crystal Holographic Gratings Doped with a High-Dielectic-Anisotropy Dopant

The first-order diffraction efficiency of holographic gratings formed in polymer-dispersed liquid-crystal (PDLC) films doped with a high-dielectric-anisotropy compound, HRL-410, were investigated. PDLC films doped with various HRL-410 concentrations were used to write gratings under different laser powers. By conducting a light-scattering study using a single Ar + laser beam to excite the sample while probing with a He–Ne laser, we found that the dielectric material increases the rate of polymerization, which in turn affects the formation and the resultant morphology of the grating. The voltage required for switching the grating decreases significantly for the doped films. We propose a model to explain these experimental observations.