Enhancement of photoinduced polarization rotation in azobenzene polymer films

In this paper we demonstrated enhancement of photoinduced polarization rotation for improved transmission of laser light at low input intensities through a crossed polarized system. It is achieved by utilizing two azobenzene doped polymer thin films in tandem. As the input beam propagates through the films, its polarization rotation induced by each film is additive. We obtained polarization rotation of as much as 24° resulting in enhanced transmission compared to a single-film approach. In addition, this novel design is promising for use as a broadband nonlinear transmission system.