Second-order NLO response in chiral ferroelectric liquid crystals: Molecular and bulk consideration

Abstract Nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of three chiral smectic liquid crystals were investigated by Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering (HRS) and the Second-Harmonic Generation (SHG) methods. The HRS measurements of two compounds (MHPOBC and D16), with the biphenyl unit in their center, in solution demonstrate the quadratic NLO activity. The third compound (D17), having three isolated phenyl rings in the core, does not exhibit the NLO activity. The NLO properties in smectic phases of all investigated compounds have been also studied by wide-field second-harmonic and two-photon fluorescence microscopy confirming noncentrosymmetry for compounds with biphenyl π coupling (MHPOBC and D16).