Novel materials based on metal-alkanoate liquid crystals and smectic glasses for impulse dynamic holographic applications

Nonlinear optical properties are investigated in novel materials based on metal alkanoate lyotropic ionic liquid crystals (ILC) matrix and ionic smectic glasses with dye and electrochromic impurities. The dynamic holographic grating is recorded under action of a laser pulse of nanosecond duration. The transient nonlinear mechanisms are consider both theoretically and experimentally, namely, (i) absorption saturation in lyotropic ILC and smectic glasses with dye impurities, (ii) photoconversion of dimers into cation radicals of viologens in lyotropic ILC matrix, and (iii) the nonlinearity connected with changes of coordination bonds with ligants due to excitation of Co⁺² ions in ionic smectic glasses of cobalt decanoate. The residual thermal grating has a negligible small magnitude in the materials.