Photoinduced reorientation and thermal effects in an oligothiophene-doped liquid crystal system

摘要

Photoinduced reorientation (photon-mode process) and thermal effects in an oligothiophene-doped liquid crystal (LC) system were investigated by self-diffraction measurements in different experimental configurations. The results obtained in homeotropic sample cells were compared with those obtained in homogeneous cells. Optical Freedericksz transition could be induced by low-intensity light in the homeotropic cell, and the induced birefringence was affected by the thermal effect. No photoinduced reorientation effect was observed in the homogeneous cell in the present experimental configuration; however, due to the thermal modulation of the refractive index of the LC, which arises from light absorption, self-diffraction phenomena could also be observed.