Study on the rewritability of bisazobenzene-containing films in optical storage based on two-photon process

In this paper, we use a two-photon technique to record data points on bisazobenzene-containing films. The recording data points are evidently polarization dependent. It is found that the recording data points can be erased by the linearly polarized light whose polarization direction is perpendicular to that of the recording beam and then, in the same region, new data can be rewritten after erasing. In addition, the recorded data can also be erased completely by the circularly polarized light. Compared with linearly polarized beam, the circularly polarized light is a better choice for erasure as no main orientation is regained after erasing rather than reorientation.