Experimental Observation of Nonlinear Beam Splitting in Dye-Doped Liquid Crystal Waveguides

Abstract

Liquid crystals have effective nonlinear optical coefficients that are orders of magnitude larger than other materials exploited in integrated optics. The addition of some organic dyes in small amounts may further enhance the nonlinear optical response and even change its sign. We used a dye-nematic liquid crystal mixture exhibiting a negative optical nonlinearity. We observed the nonlinear spatial splitting of the guided modes in a symmetric planar waveguide whose core was the liquid crystal mixture. This nonlinear effect has been observed with very low laser power input and the power threshold dependence on dye concentration and core thickness was investigated.

Integrated Optics Devices Based on Liquid Crystals

“…However very few address the issue of direct coupling. So far these make use of extra glass plates placed perpendicularly [18,19]. Planar liquid crystal devices with polymer waveguides can be prism-coupled [20].…”