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HAIT Journal of Science and Engineering Volume 1, Issue 2, pp. 306-347 © 2004 Holon Academic Institute of Technology | |||||
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Light interaction with smectic A liquid crystals: | |||||
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Research Center for Quantum Communication Engineering Department of Communication Engineering, Holon Academic Institute of Technology, 52 Golomb Str., Holon 58102, Israel e-mail: borisle@hait.ac.il Received 11 December 2003, revised 25 May 2004, accepted 1 June 2004 | |||||
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The theory of non-linear optical effects and related electrodynamic and hydrodynamic effects in smectic A liquid crystals caused by a specific nonlinearity mechanism, the so-called second sound, is reviewed. We investigated the peculiarities of light self-focusing, self-trapping and nonlinear wave-mixing in smectic A liquid crystals. It is also shown that a light-induced high frequency longitudinal electric field and a hydrodynamic flow can be created. Nonlinear optical characteristics of smectic A liquid crystals are one or two orders of magnitude larger than similar quantities in isotropic organic liquids. | |||||
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