Simple way for achieving passive all-optical switching of continuous waves lasers using pure nematic liquid crystal

We have examined pure nematic liquid crystal (LC), 4'-pentyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5-CB), with a 90 degrees twisted alignment within a cell made of two cross-polarized absorptive plastic polarizers, and investigated the nonlinear transmission properties using cw (532 nm) lasers. We observed optically self-activated polarization switching with a factor of three lower switching power than a dye-doped LC cell with similar linear transmittance using glass substrates. We also studied the dynamics of the switching processes and observed millisecond switching time. These studies have demonstrated a simpler but more efficient way for fabricating broadband, low switching power, millisecond time scale switching, and optical limiting devices. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America