A fast light-induced grating in bent-core nematic liquid crystals with in-plane switching

摘要

We observed a fast light-induced grating in bent-core nematic liquid crystal (LC) using an in-plane switching cell. Combining weak writing beams and a dc field, this grating can be easily built up and decay within 10 ms, which is two orders of magnitude faster than that in conventional device composed of doped rodlike LC and planar cell. Besides, this grating is produced by the periodic twist deformation of LC, whereas the conventional grating is produced by the periodic bend deformation, therefore, this grating can be used to explore the twist elastic properties of LC systems.