Electrically controlled porous polymer films filled with liquid crystals: New possibilities for photonics and THz applications

The results of electro-optical investigations of a composite material (liquid crystal - polymer porous film) are presented. It was found that the dynamics of the electro-optic response essentially depends on frequency of AC voltage. In particular, at low frequency, the strong negative peaks in the intensity of light, passed through the samples, at moments corresponding to the change of the polarity of an applied voltage, were registered. Different possible mechanisms responsible for the observed phenomenon, like the dielectric torque and the ion motion, were considered.