Holographic recording using visible‐light sensitive polymers based on cationic polycondensation

Negative‐working photopolymers based on a cationic polycondensation mechanism were developed. The photopolymers are highly sensitive to 488 nm argon ion laser light, because they use a chemically amplified reaction and are not sensitive to ambient oxygen. These photopolymers are composed of a poly(p‐hydroxystyrene) matrix, a hexamethoxy methylmelamine crosslinker and a 2,4,6‐tris(trichloromethyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine–coumarin dye combination as a photo‐initiator. They exhibit 0.6 mJ/cm 2 (D 0.7 g ) sensitivity to 488 nm light, as well as a high resolution of 0.5 μm. Due to their high sensitivity and high resolution, a relief‐type hologram, larger than 50 × 50 cm, can be recorded in a short exposure time using them.