The photorefractivity of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) mixed with a photoconductive compound was investigated in detail. FLCs are anisotropic media, so that laser beam incidence conditions strongly affect the formation of the refractive index grating. Effects of intersection angles of the laser beams, sample angle, sample rotation angle, sample thickness, and polarization of the laser beams on the photorefractivity of FLCs were examined.

The formation of dynamic holograms based on the spatial modulation of the molecular motions of ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs) was demonstrated. The consecutive rotational switching motion of FLC molecules under an alternating electric field was modulated by the photoinduced additional electric field built at the interference fringe. This spatially periodic difference in molecular motions of an FLC was confirmed to work as a diffraction grating. Since the motion-mode hologram is stable and the response is very fast when compared to photorefractive polymers, the motion-mode hologram appears to be promising for various photonic applications.

The photorefractivity of a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) mixed with a photoconductive compound was investigated in detail. FLCs are anisotropic media, so that laser beam incidence conditions strongly affect the formation of the refractive index grating. Effects of intersection angles of the laser beams, sample angle and sample thickness on the photorefractivity of FLCs were examined. The motion-mode photorefractive effect of a PLC was also investigated.