Abstract

We report on our investigation of the potential for all-optical reversible photostructuring of the photochromic molecule 1,2-bis(2-methylbenzo[b]thiophen-3-yl)perfluorocyclopentene (BFCP). The light-induced isomerization of BFCP was studied in solution as well as in polymeric thin films. The absorption change that is due to the photochromic reaction of BFCP was determined by conventional spectroscopic measurements. The absolute values of the refractive indices of doped polymer films were measured by the waveguide grating coupling technique for the two states of the photochromic molecule. The dynamics of the reactions and the light-induced refractive-index changes $\mathrm{\Delta }n$ of doped polymer samples were investigated in holographic grating experiments. Changes of as much as $\mathrm{\Delta }n=(3.5\pm 0.5)\times {10}^{-4}$ were obtained at 806 nm for 41.16-wt. % doping. Finally, a modified two-beam coupling experiment permitted the separation of absorption and refractive-index contributions to the grating buildup and the determination of the phase shifts of these gratings with respect to the intensity grating.

© 2002 Optical Society of America

Photochromic diarylethene for rewritable holographic data storage

Shoujun Luo, Kexin Chen, Liangcai Cao, Guodong Liu, Qingsheng He, Guofan Jin, Dexing Zeng, and Yi Chen
Opt. Express 13(8) 3123-3128 (2005)

Ellipsometric analysis of the spectral properties and dynamic transitions of photochromic thin films

Alberto Alvarez-Herrero, Rosario Pardo, Marcos Zayat, and David Levy
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 24(9) 2097-2107 (2007)

Photochromic polymers for the optical homodyne detection of ultrasonic surface displacements

Ulrich Gubler, Daniel Wright, W. E. Moerner, and Marvin B. Klein
Opt. Lett. 27(5) 354-356 (2002)

Optically switchable diffraction grating in a photochromic/polymer thin film

G. V. M. Williams, My. T. T. Do, S. G. Raymond, M. D. H. Bhuiyan, and A. J. Kay
Appl. Opt. 54(22) 6882-6886 (2015)

Biphotonic holographic grating recordings for different polarization configurations in spirooxazine-doped polymers

Meiling Zheng, Xin Xie, Zhiying Zhang, Feng Shi, Xiuli Wang, Shencheng Fu, and Yichun Liu
Appl. Opt. 53(25) 5815-5823 (2014)