Effect of acrylate monomers on the diffraction behavior of photopolymers fabricated with cellulose ester polymer binder

Photopolymers are attractive materials for holographic data storage because of their high photosensitivity and refractive index modulation. A set of novel photopolymers based on a cellulose ester polymer binder doped with three differently functionalized acrylic monomers were prepared and investigated by differential scanning calorimetry before and after laser irradiation at λ = 514 nm. Evidence of refractive index modulation under irradiation was provided by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Holographic gratings were generated in these photopolymer samples by conventional optical interference method. Changes in diffraction efficiency were directly measured during irradiation of the films for mono-, bi-, and tri-functionalized acrylic monomers doped into the polymer binder.