N.C.R. Holme

TL;DR: In this article, a mean-field model of photoinduced surface reliefs in dye containing side-chain polymers is presented, and it is demonstrated that photoinduced ordering of dye molecules subject to anisotropic intermolecular interactions leads to mass transport even when the intensity of the incident light is spatially uniform.

Abstract: Atomic force and scanning near‐field optical microscopic investigations have been carried out on a polarization holographic grating recorded in an azobenzene side‐chain liquid crystalline polyester. It has been found that immediately following laser irradiation, a topographic surface grating structure appears. The time development of the grating structure was followed by atomic force microscopy for 20 h by repeatedly scanning the same area of the film. The grating structure disappears after a few hours and a pronounced increase of surface roughness has been found to take place. A near‐field optical microscopic scanning of the grating reveals, however, that the bulk of the film remains optically anisotropic.

TL;DR: In this article, the formation of surface relief structures in azobenzene polyesters formed by polarization holography with orthogonally circularly polarized laser beams was examined in detail.

TL;DR: In this article, the polarization properties of holographic gratings in side-chain azobenzene polyesters were investigated, where an anisotropic grating that is due to photoinduced linear and circular birefringence is recorded in the volume of the material and a relief grating appears on the surface.

TL;DR: In this article, the atomic force microscopic investigation of side-chain azobenzene polymers after irradiation through an amplitude mask was conducted, and it was shown that large peaks or trenches result depending on the architecture of the polymer.