AN ANALYSIS OF THE ANISOTROPIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC GRATINGS IN A SIDE-CHAIN LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE AZOBENZENE POLYESTER

We have examined in detail the formation of surface relief structures in azobenzene polyesters formed by polarization holography with orthog onally circularly polarized laser beams, We show that it is possible t o separate the contribution to the diffraction efficiency into an anis otropic part and a surface relief part by examining the polarization c ontent of the first order diffracted beam. By studying the dynamics of the growth of the grating, we show that the gratings due to anisotrop y and surface relief appear at the same time. Atomic force microscopic investigations of the film after irradiation reveal a strongly polari zation dependent surface relief pattern. (C) 1997 American Institute o f Physics.