Reconstruction of NLC Director Deformation Using a Combination of Aberration Self-Action and Polarization Microscopy Methods

The processes of light-induced orientation at oblique incidence of a light beam on a dye-doped nematic liquid crystal (NLC) are experimentally studied with the simultaneous use of the methods of aberrational light beam self-action and polarization microscopy. Each method has features associated with the geometry of light propagation in an NLC, and their combination significantly expands the possibilities of reconstructing the light-induced profile of the nonlinear phase shift and director deformation field.