Harmonic-Generation In Ferroelectric Liquid-Crystals - Phase-Matching Loci

Ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs), a new class of organic nonlinear materials have a variety of interesting properties and potential applications. Using commercial FLCs and an FLC mixture specifically formulated for enhanced nonlinear optical properties, we studied the room-temperature global phase-matching properties for type I and type II frequency doubling of 1.06-mum radiation. Although the second-harmonic coefficients of the different FLC mixtures differ by as much as two orders of magnitude, the phase-matching loci are remarkably similar.