Abstract

Recently, organic photorefractive (PR) materials have attracted a lot of attention as recording media for photonic applications, including real-time optical processing and holographic data storage. The latest PR polymers show steady-state performance (diffraction efficiencies η = 86%, net optical gain Γ > 200 cm⁻¹)¹ that compete and in some cases even surpass the performance of traditional inorganic materials. However, a drawback of these high-performance materials is their short shelf-life time, in particular in humid environment, owing to the fact that they possess low-glass-transition temperatures and contain large amounts of low-molecular-weight components. Thus, in times ranging from days to months after preparation of an optically clear material, phase separation occurs leading to the loss of the optical transparency of the devices.

© 1996 Optical Society of America