Photoactivated electric field effects in nematic liquid crystals serve as reversible nearly real‐time techniques for recording phase‐type holograms. In a sandwich‐type cell, a photoconductive coating separates one conductive electrode from the liquid‐crystal layer, which is operated below the threshold voltage for dynamic scattering. In CdS cells, transient first‐order diffraction efficiencies of 10–30% are obtained within 0.1–0.2 sec from visible light exposures of less than 1 μJ/cm2. A 10‐μW/cm2 Ar‐ion laser interference pattern of 40 cycle/mm produced a steady‐state first‐order diffraction efficiency of 8% in a 13‐μm thickness of MBBA in a cell operated at 4‐V dc. Resolutions up to 100 cycle/mm are observed for this thickness of liquid crystal.

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