Abstract
We study modulation of partially polarized light governed by the orientational Kerr effect in subwavelength-pitch deformed-helix ferroelectric liquid crystals. In our experimental setup based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer, it is found that the electric field induced shift of the interference fringes crucially depends on the degree of polarization of the incident light. We show that the experimental data can be theoretically described in terms of the electrically dependent Pancharatnam relative phase. The electric field dependence of both the Pancharatnam and geometric phases is evaluated by comparing the experimental and theoretical results.
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