Condensed Matter Physics Commons^™

Photopolymerizable Nanocomposites For Holographic Recording And Sensor Application, Elsa Leite, Izabela Naydenova, Svetlana Mintova, Louis Leclercq, Vincent Toal

Articles

Novel nanocomposites consisting of a water soluble acrylamide–based photopolymer and colloidal zeolite nanoparticles of zeolite Beta and zeolite A were prepared. The interactions between the photopolymer components and zeolite nanoparticles in the photopolymerizable nanocomposites were characterized for the first time by 13C NMR and Visible spectroscopy. It was found that the zeolite Beta nanoparticles (up to 5% wt.) behave as a non-inert additive, resulting in an effective increase in layer thickness that causes doubling of the diffraction efficiency of the nanocomposite in comparison to that of the undoped photopolymer. On the other hand, the nanocomposite containing zeolite A nanoparticles showed …

Ultrathin, Ultrasmooth And Low-Loss Silver Films Via Wetting And Annealing, Weiqiang Chen, Kuo-Ping Chen, Mark Daniel Thoreson, Alexander Kildishev, Vladimir M. Shalaev

Weiqiang Chen

We have demonstrated that a thermal annealing treatment can reduce the optical losses in ultrathin, ultrasmooth, silver films deposited on a Ge wetting layer to values as low as the bulk material value and at the same time maintain an ultrasmooth surface. The annealing effect is sensitive to the annealing temperature and time, both of which should be carefully controlled. This annealing treatment is also effective for Ag–SiO2 multilayer composite films.

Reflectivity Of A Cholesteric Liquid Crystal, Justin Lawson

Physics

In this paper we investigate the light properties of a chiral liquid crystal or a crystal for which the director angle relative to some fixed axis changes as a function of the crystal depth. Sometimes a dopant can introduce a chirality or "twist" in a nematic liquid crystal. For such cases of non-linear depth dependence (where chirality is determined by a diffusion equation) we may use this research to work backwards from a crystal's light properties to intensity and duration of dopant exposure.

Spectroscopic Analysis Of Tungsten Oxide Thin Films For Sensor Applications, Jose Luis Enriquez Carrejo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this study is targeted toward improving the quality of pure tungsten oxide (WO3) for application to the detection of poisoning gases, especially of H2S. While pure WO3 is a recognized candidate for gas sensing, its characteristics are strongly dependent on the conditions and methods used in its deposition.

Samples of WO3 thin films analyzed in this work were grown on silicon and sapphire substrates using RF magnetron sputtering at a number of different substrate temperatures and Ar:O2 pressure ratios. The properties of the samples were investigated spectroscopically with the goal of determining how variations in the above …

Two-Way Diffusion Model For Short Exposure Holographic Grating Formation In Acrylamide-Based Photopolymer, Tzvetanka Babeva, Izabela Naydenova, Dana Mackey, Suzanne Martin, Vincent Toal

Articles

A theoretical model for formation of a short exposure holographic grating is presented. The model accounts for both monomer and polymer diffusion and distinguishes between short polymer chains capable of diffusing and long polymer chains that are immobile. It is shown that the experimentally observed decrease of diffraction efficiency at higher spatial frequency can be predicted by assuming diffusion of short-chain polymers away from the bright fringes. The time evolution of the refractive index modulation after short exposure is calculated and compared with experimental results. The effects of diffusion coefficients, polymerization rates, intensity and spatial frequency of recording on the …

Optical Properties Of Photopolymer Layers Doped With Aluminophosphate Nanocrystals, Elsa Leite, Tzvetanka Babeva, E Ng, Vincent Toal, Svetlana Mintova, Izabela Naydenova

Articles

The optical properties of photopolymer layers consisting of an acrylamide–based matrix and microporous aluminophosphate nanocrystals of AEI- type are investigated. The compatibility of the photopolymer doped with the nanoparticles is studied. The surface and volume properties of the layers with different levels of doping with microporous nanocrystals are characterized. The effective refractive indices and absorption coefficients of the doped photopolymer layers are determined and used to calculate the refractive index and porosity of pure AEI nanoparticles used as dopants. Volume transmission gratings were recorded in the doped photopolymer layers at different spatial frequencies. By spatial monitoring of the characteristic Raman …

Optimisation Of An Acrylamide-Based Photopolymer System For Holographic Inscription Of Surface Patterns With Sub-Micron Resolution, Kevin Trainer, Kevin Wearen, Dimana Nazarova, Izabela Naydenova, Vincent Toal

Articles

We describe the optimisation of the holographic patterning of sub-micrometer surface relief structures in an acrylamide-based photopolymer. A substantial improvement in the photoinduced surface relief resolution was achieved by altering the photopolymer chemical composition and by introducing a single step post recording thermal treatment of the layers. It was observed that, by optimisation of the chemical composition of the photopolymer layers, the maximum achievable spatial frequency increases from 200 l/mm to 550 l/mm. The improvement of the surface relief amplitude by alteration of the chemical composition is limited due to the fact that both decrease of the plasticiser and increase …

A Diffusion Model For Spatially Dependent Photopolymerization, Dana Mackey, Tzvetanka Babeva, Izabela Naydenova, Vincent Toal

Articles

Photopolymers represent an attractive class of optical recording materials due to properties such as high refractive index modulation, dry film processing, long shelf life, etc. Applications include holographically based devices for optical storage disks, optical interconnections, optical memories and filters. This paper will address the dynamics of short-exposure holographic grating formation; a new mathematical model is proposed with the aim of understanding the experimental observations of low diffraction efficiency in high spatial frequency gratings.