Mechanical deformation of a liquid crystal diffraction grating in an elastic polymer

We demonstrate the tuning of the diffraction efficiency in a polymer‐dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) diffraction grating by mechanical shear deformation. We chose a photocurable thermoset with elastic mechanical properties as the host material to demonstrate the tuning effect. Raman–Nath gratings were prepared by anisotropically curing a mixture of commercial photopolymer doped with liquid crystal. The mixture was contained between glass slides which were mounted in a simple shearing device. During the photopolymerization, the liquid crystal phase separated into 2‐μm droplets organized into channels with 3.8‐μm spacing. Gratings were deformed by shearing the samples in a direction perpendicular to the channel orientation. The diffraction intensity and morphology were monitored as a function of shear strain. Reversible tuning was observed due to the elastic nature of the matrix. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 68: 523–526, 1998