Diffraction efficiency of polarization holographic gratings recorded in azopolymer thin films coated using different solvents

Blagoeva, Blaga; Nedelchev, Lian; Mateev, Georgi; Stoykova, Elena; Nazarova, Dimana

doi:10.1117/12.2555756

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…A widely investigated azopolymer is poly[1-[4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo)benzene sulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt], commonly denoted as PAZO, which is commercially available. PAZO is often the preferred material for polarization holography by many research groups, due to the high values of the photoinduced birefringence and large amplitude of the surface relief gratings [18,20,[35][36][37][38][39][40]. Another important advantage of the azopolymer PAZO is that it is water soluble, thus toxic organic solvents, which are usually required for the film deposition of other azopolymers, can be avoided.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarization Diffraction Gratings in PAZO Polymer Thin Films Recorded with Digital Polarization Holography: Polarization Properties and Surface Relief Formation

Berberova-Buhova,

Nedelchev,

Mateev

et al. 2024

Photonics

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In this work, we study the polarization properties of diffraction gratings recorded in thin films of the azopolymer PAZO (poly[1-[4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo)benzene sulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt]) using digital polarization holography. Using two quarter-wave plates, the phase retardation of each pixel of the SLM is converted into the azimuth rotation of linearly polarized light. When recording from the azopolymer side of the sample, significant surface relief amplitude is observed with atomic force microscopy. In contrast, recording from the substrate side of the sample allows the reduction of the surface relief modulation and the obtaining of polarization gratings with characteristics close to an ideal grating, recorded with two orthogonal circular polarizations. This can be achieved even with a four-pixel period of grating, as demonstrated by our results.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polarization Diffraction Gratings in PAZO Polymer Thin Films Recorded with Digital Polarization Holography: Polarization Properties and Surface Relief Formation

Berberova-Buhova,

Nedelchev,

Mateev

et al. 2024

Photonics

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“…Diverse applications have inspired the investigation of large number of azopolymers [117][118][119][120]. A commercially available azopolymer, commonly denoted as PAZO (poly[1-4-(3-carboxy-4hydrophenylazo)benzensulfonamido]-1,2-ethanediyl, sodium salt]), is often the preferred material for polarization holography by many research groups due to the high values of photoinduced birefringence and large amplitude of the surface relief gratings inscribed in it [121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132]. In addition, its solubility in water and methanol allows for the easy preparation of nanocomposite materials using water suspensions of nanoparticles, for example gold or silver NPs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanocomposite Photoanisotropic Materials for Applications in Polarization Holography and Photonics

Nazarova,

Nedelchev,

Berberova-Buhova

et al. 2023

Nanomaterials

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Photoanisotropic materials, in particular azodyes and azopolymers, have attracted significant research interest in the last decades. This is due to their applications in polarization holography and 4G optics, enabling polarization-selective diffractive optical elements with unique properties, including circular polarization beam-splitters, polarization-selective bifocal lenses, and many others. Numerous methods have been applied to increase the photoinduced birefringence of these materials, and as a result, to obtain polarization holographic elements with a high diffraction efficiency. Recently, a new approach has emerged that has been extensively studied by many research groups, namely doping azobenzene-containing materials with nanoparticles with various compositions, sizes, and morphologies. The resulting nanocomposites have shown significant enhancement in their photoanisotropic response, including increased photoinduced birefringence, leading to a higher diffraction efficiency and a larger surface relief modulation in the case of polarization holographic recordings. This review aims to cover the most important achievements in this new but fast-growing field of research and to present an extensive comparative analysis of the result, reported by many research groups during the last two decades. Different hypotheses to explain the mechanism of photoanisotropy enhancement in these nanocomposites are also discussed. Finally, we present our vision for the future development of this scientific field and outline its potential applications in advanced photonics technologies.

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In-line and off-axis polarization-selective holographic lenses recorded in azopolymer thin films via polarization holography and polarization multiplexing

Nedelchev¹,

Mateev²,

Nikolova³

et al. 2023

Appl. Opt.

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Polarization-selective diffractive in-line and off-axis lenses are recorded in azopolymer thin films using polarization holography. A simple, yet efficient, and to the best of our knowledge, new method is used to suppress the surface relief grating formation and to improve the polarization properties of the lenses. The in-line lenses are converging for right circularly polarized (RCP) light and diverging for left circularly polarized (LCP) light. Bifocal off-axis lenses are recorded by polarization multiplexing. By rotating the sample at 90° between the exposures, the two focal points of these lenses are located in orthogonal directions O x and O y , so we can refer to these novel lenses as 2D bifocal polarization holographic lenses. The light intensity in their focuses depends on the reconstructing light polarization. According to the recording scheme, they can either reach maximum intensities simultaneously (for LCP or RCP), or alternatively, one of them can be at maximum for LCP, while the other for RCP. These lenses may be used as polarization controllable optical switches, in the field of self-interference incoherent digital holography or for other photonics applications.

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Diffraction efficiency of polarization holographic gratings recorded in azopolymer thin films coated using different solvents

Cited by 3 publications

References 22 publications

Polarization Diffraction Gratings in PAZO Polymer Thin Films Recorded with Digital Polarization Holography: Polarization Properties and Surface Relief Formation

Polarization Diffraction Gratings in PAZO Polymer Thin Films Recorded with Digital Polarization Holography: Polarization Properties and Surface Relief Formation

Nanocomposite Photoanisotropic Materials for Applications in Polarization Holography and Photonics

In-line and off-axis polarization-selective holographic lenses recorded in azopolymer thin films via polarization holography and polarization multiplexing

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