The effects of poly(vinyl carbazole) (PVK) doped to a poly(urethane acrylate) matrix in holographic-polymer-dispersed liquid crystals were studied. With the addition and increasing amounts of PVK, the driving voltage and rising time of the films decreased because of the increased effective local electric field across the liquid crystal (LC) droplet. Off-state diffraction efficiency was increased with the addition and increasing amounts of PVK presumably because of the increased elasticity of the polymer matrix, which augmented the phase separation of the polymer and LC by effectively squeezing the LC molecules out of the polyrner matrix. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.