Temporal formation of optical anisotropy and surface relief during polarization holographic recording in polymethylmethacrylate with azobenzene side groups

The formation of polarization holographic gratings with both optical anisotropy and surface relief (SR) deformation was studied for polymethylmethacrylate with azobenzene side groups. Temporal contributions of isotropic and anisotropic phase gratings were simultaneously determined by observing transitional intensity and polarization states of the diffraction beams and characterizing by means of Jones calculus. To clarify the mechanism of SR deformation, cross sections of SR were characterized based on the optical gradient force model; experimental observations were in good agreement with the theoretical expectation. We clarified that the anisotropic phase change originating in the reorientation of the azobenzene side groups was induced immediately at the beginning of the holographic recording, while the response time of the isotropic phase change originating in the molecular migration due to the optical gradient force was relatively slow. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.