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Abstract
The nonlinear wave mixing process in liquid crystals due to field-induced molecular reorientation is studied. Prominent effect of electric field to this nonlinear optical process is illustrated by optimizing the diffraction efficiency of degenerate four-wave mixing process in nematics. The nonlinear refrative-index change is shown not only dependent on the electric bias and material parameters but also on the experimental geometry, such as the sample thickness and the grating period. The numerical and experimental results exhibiting the characteristic behaviors of this process are summarized. The unique effect of electric bias is emphasized by comparing the diffraction efficiency with that of the phase grating induced by oblique incident laser beams.