All‐optical manipulation of azo‐dye molecules

Abstract

A challenging issue in the field of the design of devices for photonic applications is to achieve complete manipulation of the molecular order. Azo‐dye aromatic polymers have been shown to offer interesting prospects for material engineering using light matter interactions. Dual‐frequency irradiation using appropriate combinations of circular beams polarizations are demonstrated to enable full control of the molecular polar rotation. More recent results on photoinduced surface‐relief gratings have also opened the way of molecular translation control using optical fields. Understanding of the relevant parameters of molecular translation processes is a key issue for optimization of such an optomechanical effect: a simple model accounting qualitatively for the essential features of photoinduced surface‐relief gratings will be presented.

Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization and Third‐Order Nonlinear Optical Properties of New Azobenzene‐Containing Side‐Chain Polymers

“…Accordingly, there have been increasing researches in azobenzene containing side-chain and main-chain NLO polymers which have the azobenzene groups covalently bonded within the polymers. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] We have recently reported [20][21] the synthesis of a new series of azobenzene-containing side-chain polymers by grafting azobenzene compounds to conjugated polymers and by radical polymerization from the monomers of acrylates containing azobenzene group. [22] Recently, more and more copolymers [23][24][25][26] and even few homopolymers, [27] containing azobenzene side chain are synthesized by the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique.…”

Light induced processes in thin films of indandione type organic molecules

“…The low value of SRG amplitude may be caused by fact, that DMABI molecules were incorporated in polymer not chemically attached to that. It is shown, that SRG writing effect is more efficient with covalently bounded azobenzene chromophores [18]. a b Fig.…”

Polymers films with indandione derivatives as alternatives to azobenzene polymers for optical patterning

“…These amplitudes are smaller, but the guest-host morphology of these films can be also a factor. It is known that the guest-host azobenzene films also lead to less efficient SRGs compared to their counterparts with covalently bonded chromophores [19]. In SNOM transmission images the gratings were always clearly measurable.…”