We have observed extraordinarily large optical nonlinearity in Methyl Red-doped nematic liquid-crystal film. Grating diffraction can be generated with an optical intensity as low as 40 microW/cm(2) , and a refractive-index change coefficient of more than 6 cm(2)/ W is obtained. The effect is attributed to formation of an optically induced dc space-charge field and to the resulting reorientation of the highly birefringent nematic director axis.

We report on a photorefractive polymer with a 4-ms-response time in transient four-wave mixing experiments at 0.5 W/cm2 writing irradiance, 95 V/μm applied electric field, and a grating period of 3.1 μm. Complementary transient ellipsometry, however, reveals orientational birefringence response which leads the four-wave mixing response all the way to its saturation, despite complex dynamics in these processes. Orientation does not limit the dynamic formation of photorefractive gratings in this polymer, which suggests that even faster photorefractive responses are possible for polymer composites with improved charge generation and transport properties.

Coherent amplification of a signal beam by a strong pump beam is observed in thin films of fullerene-doped nematic liquid crystal. Exponential gain constants as high as 2890 cm(-1) with no phase cross talk are achieved at low applied dc bias voltage and pump beam intensity. The underlying mechanism is the electro-optically induced spatially reorientation of the liquid-crystal axis and the resultant phase-shifted index grating required for two-beam coupling.

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