Films made of substituted azobenzene polycomplexes with cobalt for polarization holography

We have studied the possibility of recording holograms in films of the 4-methacroyloxy-(4′-carboxy-3′-hydroxy)-2-chloroazobenzene polycomplex with cobalt, with parallel and orthogonal orientation of the light beam polarization. We have shown that these films can be used as recording media for polarization holography. The characteristic features of relaxation of the diffraction efficiency of the holograms are connected with cistrans isomerization of the azobenzene groups and the characteristic features of structural rearrangement in the polymer matrix. We hypothesize that the information-related characteristics of the studied recording media can be controlled by external electric or magnetic fields, due to the presence of magnetic metal ions within the polymer film. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 6, pp. 830–832, November–December, 2007.