Optical nonlinearity in the nematic phase of bent-core mesogens

Autor: Oriano Francescangeli, Liana Lucchetti, Eric A. Scharrer, Francesco Simoni, Francesco Vita
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Optics Letters. 40:2953
ISSN: 1539-4794
0146-9592
Popis: Nonlinear optical response of the cybotactic nematic phase of a bent-core mesogen has been investigated for the first time through self-phase modulation induced by a Gaussian beam. The material exhibits a high nonlinear response achieving a nonlinear index n(2)≈5×10(-5) cm(2)/W and an unconventional behavior characterized by two different regimes. While the high-intensity regime can be easily explained in terms of a thermal indexing effect, the low-intensity regime is metastable and characterized by an unusual dependence on the irradiation energy. It is suggested that a change of the director configuration, possibly due to a light-induced modification of surface anchoring, is responsible for the observed behavior.
Databáze: OpenAIRE