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Formation of a Buried Lateral Density Grating in Azobenzene Polymer Films
Author(s) -
Pietsch U.,
Rochon P.,
Natansohn A.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/1521-4095(200008)12:15<1129::aid-adma1129>3.0.co;2-a
Subject(s) - azobenzene , materials science , grating , polymer , annealing (glass) , polarization (electrochemistry) , optics , inscribed figure , optoelectronics , composite material , physics , chemistry , geometry , mathematics
A density grating buried under a smooth surface is reported for an azobenzene‐containing polymer film. The grating is formed by annealing a polymer sample pre‐inscribed with a surface grating for several hours above T g , creating a lateral density difference on the order of 10 %. It is shown that the rate of the process can be influenced by the intensity and polarization of the probe laser. Growth of photoinduced liquid–crystalline aggregates is proposed as the most probable explanation for the observed behavior.