Temporally multiplexed holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals

We report on a temporal multiplexing technique to fabricate multiple reflection gratings in holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals. By time-sequentially exposing the sample, two switchable reflection gratings are formed in a single film. The reflectance of the resulting gratings is well controlled by the individual exposure time. The observed transmission spectra are in excellent agreement with our model based on the reaction-diffusion equation to predict the kinetics of formation and the 2x2 matrix method to model the optical performance. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.