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Nonlinear optical propagation and self-limiting effect in liquid-crystalline fibers

  • Liquid-Crystal Nonlinear Optics
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Abstract

The nonlinear optical properties of the isotropic phase of liquid crystals induced by nanosecond laser pulses are analyzed in the context of nonlinear multi-mode propagation in a liquid-crystal-cored fiber. The negative thermal density nonlinearity of the core gives rise to an intensity-dependent loss in the core-guided transmission and optical action. Experiments conducted with such liquid-crystal-cored fibers show that the optical limiting threshold for nanosecond laser pulses can be as low as 0.09 J/cm2, which is one of the lowest among known nonlinear optical materials and structures, including bulk liquid-crystal films.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, 121 Electrical Engineering East, 16802-2705, University Park, PA, USA

    I. C. Khoo & H. Li

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  1. I. C. Khoo
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  2. H. Li
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Khoo, I.C., Li, H. Nonlinear optical propagation and self-limiting effect in liquid-crystalline fibers. Appl. Phys. B 59, 573–580 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01081176

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01081176

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