Study of the influence of processing baths on the modulation profile of volume holographic gratings

Over the last 20 years, dichromated gelatin has been considered to be the best holographic recording material. However, the non-reproducibility of results in relation to light sensitivity, for a large number of experimental factors, restricted the use of this material. In this work, we consider the refractive index modulation profile and its stability. We propose a mixed method using Kogelnik's coupled wave theory (an approximate theory) and an alternative theory of diffraction in modulated media (an exact theory). The aim of this contribution is to use this mixed method in order to study the evolution of the modulation profile in correlation with the modification of the chemical environment during the final stage of processing. In our study we compare the effect of different kinds of final processing baths on the refractive index modulation profile. In order to characterize our holograms we have developed an experimental set-up for diffractive elements analysis. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical ones. For the numerical study we have carried out a complete set of numerical computations by using our own programs. These programs are based on a complete and exact solution of the Maxwell equations.