Photochromic diarylethene for polarization holographic optical recording

Photochromic diarylethene, 1,2-bis[2-methyl-5-(3-fluorophenyl)-3-thienyl] perfluorocylcopentene (1a), was synthesized. The compound showed good photochromic reactions both in solution and in PMMA matrix by photo-irradiation. Using the diarylethene 1b/PMMA film as recording medium and a He–Ne laser for recording and readout, four types of polarization holographic optical recording were accomplished for the first time. The results show that the orthogonal circular polarization recording is the best method for holographic optical recording when the target photochromic diarylethene is used as recording material.