Polarization holographic recording in thin films of pure azopolymer and azopolymer based hybrid materials

Recently, a birefringence enhancement effect was observed in azopolymers doped with various nanoparticles. The paper presents comparison between the parameters of polarization holographic gratings recorded in a pure azopolymer PAZO (Poly[1-[4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo) benzenesulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt]) and in a hybrid PAZO-based organic/inorganic material with incorporated ZnO nanoparticles of size less than 50 nm. Laser emitting at 491 nm is used for the holographic recording. Along with the anisotropic grating in the volume of the media, surface relief is also formed. Gratings with different spatial frequencies are obtained by varying the recording angle. The time dependence of the diffraction efficiency is probed at 635 nm and the height of the relief gratings is determined by AFM. Our results indicate that both the diffraction efficiency and the height of the surface relief for the hybrid samples are enhanced with respect to the pure azopolymer films.