Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
1539295 Optics Communications 2009 6 Pages PDF
Abstract

Photoinduced anisotropy in an azobenzene ionic liquid–crystalline polymer was investigated through dichroism, birefringence and polarization holography. A dichroism degree of 1.58 and a birefringence value Δn ∼ 10−2 were achieved in the polymer film at room temperature, and the polymer film was found to possess the characteristics of reversible and long-term optical storage. Particularly the stored birefringence could be enhanced to Δn ∼ 10−1 by annealing the film, and it is attributed to the thermal self-organization of the molecules. Furthermore, linear- and circular-polarization holographic recordings were accomplished in the polymer film and pure polarization gratings were produced.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Materials Science Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
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