A diffusion model for spatially dependent photopolymerisation
D. Mackey (Dublin Institute of Technology), I. Naydenova (Dublin Institute of Technology), T. Babeva (Dublin Institute of Technology), V. Toal (Dublin Institute of Technology)
Photopolymers attract significant scientific and industrial interest due to their applications in areas such as manufacturing of optical elements and holographic data storage. Their main disadvantage is poor response for high spatial frequency holographic recording; therefore a deeper understanding of this process is needed.
In this paper we propose a mathematical model for holographic recording, capable of accounting for diffusion of short polymer chains from bright to dark regions. The time evolution of diffraction efficiency and
refractive index modulation after short exposures are compared with experimental results. The effects of diffusion rates, polymerization rates and spatial frequency are also discussed.