Linear and Nonlinear Optical Effects in Liquid Crystals

摘要 小行星9404273 本研究的重点是液晶材料。建议的调查是在两个一般领域：在液晶中的非线性光学效应的研究和使用新的光学技术来研究液晶。前者包括激光诱导直流极化、波混频、受激光散射、激光诱导非线性动力学等，后者着重于液晶的一些其他方法难以研究的性质。特别感兴趣的是液晶的表面和界面性质。它们对于液晶器件技术的进步非常重要，因为通常是液晶的表面取向决定了特定器件所需的体液晶取向。这些研究也将提高我们对液晶及其对光的响应的认识，这将有助于我们寻找液晶作为现代技术材料的应用。 %这项研究的重点是液晶材料。液晶是一种特殊的光学材料。它们在显示器、存储器和传感器设备中有许多应用。它们的光学性质很容易被外部扰动改变。普通的激光束通常足够强以实现修改。 激光束在液晶中的传播可以产生许多不寻常但有趣的光学现象，这些现象可能对光电子学有用。我们的研究就是要发现、检验和理解这些现象。这些结果也将使我们能够设计新的方法来探测液晶的各种重要性质。

Abstract 9404273 Shen This research focusses on liquid crystalline materials. Proposed investigations are in two general areas: studies of nonlinear optical effects in liquid crystals and use of novel optical techniques to study liquid crystals. The former includes laser-induced dc polarization, wave mixing, stimulated light scattering, laser-induced nonlinear dynamics, and so on. The latter emphasizes liquid crystalline properties that cannot be easily probed by other methods. Particular interest is on surface and interfacial properties of liquid crystals. They are of great importance to the advance of liquid crystal device technology, because it is often the surface alignment of liquid crystals that determines the bulk liquid crystal alignment needed for specific devices. These studies should also enhance our knowledge about liquid crystals and their responses to light which will help in our search for applications of liquid crystals as modern technological materials. %%% This research focusses on liquid crystalline materials. Liquid crystals are extraordinary optical materials. They have found many applications in display, memory, and sensor devices. Their optical properties are easily modified by external perturbations. An ordinary laser beam is often strong enough to effect the modification. Propagation of a laser beam in a liquid crystal can yield many unusual, but interesting, optical phenomena potentially useful for optoelectronics. Our research is to discover, examine, and understand these phenomena. The results will also allow us to devise new methods to probe various important properties of liquid crystals.