Optical storage in a smectic mesophase: thermal amplification of light-induced chromophore orientations and surface relief gratings

This contribution is concerned with the exceptionally strong influence of s mectic mesophase formation on the optically induced orientation and on the surface relief grating formation in a liquid crystalline melamine derivativ e containing azobenzene groups. We demonstrate that the strong amplificatio n of optically induced holographic gratings by thermal treatment is not onl y caused by the enhancement of photo-orientation through the mesophase form ation, but is furthermore a consequence of significant amplification of the amplitude of surface relief gratings during the thermal development.