Vladislav Matusevich

Modified polymethylmethacrylate as a base for thermostable optical recording media

A possibility to improve the thermal properties of holographic gratings in a photosensitive system based on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and to enhance simultaneously the adhesion of the photopolymer to soda-lime glass is demonstrated. The modified PMMA was prepared by radical copolymerisation of methylmethacrylate (MMA) with acrylic acid (AA). Polymer films deposited from samples of the copolymer of MMA with AA containing 9,10-phenanthrenequinone additives were used as a photosensitive material for the recording of holographic gratings. It is possible to generate gratings that are thermally stable up to 200 masculineC using this modified PMMA. Dynamic thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis and thermal mechanic analyses were used to determine the dependence of the thermal stability of the modified PMMA on the composition and the structure of its macromolecules.

Phase hologram formation in highly concentrated phenanthrenequinone–PMMA media

For phase holographic gratings in layers of polymethylmethacrylate, containing phenanthrenequinone in high concentration (nearly 3 mol%), a discrepancy between experimental (up to 9) and estimated (∼45) magnitudes of the thermal diffusion amplification coefficient has been revealed. Analysis of plausible reasons of the lower experimental efficiency of the diffusion amplification has been carried out. The influence of material deformations on the reflection grating formation process was investigated experimentally. It is shown that thermoactivated amplification of holograms under high phenanthrenequinone concentration and its profound modulation are depressed by the arising density ‘grating’.

Holographic volume absorption grating in glass-like polymer recording material

This paper presents investigations of glass-like polymer recording media based on poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA and its thermostable derivative (copolymer with acrylic acid) PMMA+AA with regard to their application as storage materials for holographic gratings. The contribution of the absorption gratings to the total diffraction efficiency (DE) of holographic gratings written in these materials, is estimated. The absorption grating, refractive index modulation, and the maximal total DE and saturated total DE are determined.

Non-local response in glass-like polymer storage materials based on poly (methylmethacrylate) with distributed phenanthrenequinone.

The development of volume phase gratings written by two-wave-mixing in glass-like polymer storage materials based on poly (methylmethacrylate) and its thermostable derivative (copolymer with acrylic acid) with distributed phenanthrenequinone is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The maximal diffraction efficiency is considered in dependence on the grating period. The redistribution processes of the molecules are described with a one-dimensional diffusion model yielding the existence of a non-local response in the photopolymer layer, and the corresponding non-local response length of phenanthrenequinone is found experimentally.

Numerical investigation of the (1+1)D self-trapping of laser beams in polymeric films based on polymethylmethacrylate and phenanthrenequinone

An analytical description connected with a numerical calculation of the propagation of self-trapped laser beams in a polymethylmethacrylate matrix containing phenanthrenequinone molecules is presented. A theoretical model for the spatial distribution of boundary optical waves is developed in dependence on characteristic beam parameters.

PMMA-PQ Photopolymers for Head-Up-Displays

We present the experimental realization of a head-up-display based on a photopolymer. A phase volume reflection hologram is written in a photopolymer layer and is used as a screen for a signal beam. To write efficient holograms in the polymeric material we used ordinary and modified polymethylmethacrylate matrices containing phenanthrenequinone (PQ). Increasing the PQ concentration gives us an opportunity to realize thinner layers (<100 mum) saving high values of the diffraction efficiency. Decreasing the thickness of the layer allows higher observation angles of the received image and a wider spectral range of the incident light.

Broadening of the light self-trapping due to thermal defocusing in PQ-PMMA polymeric layers

The channel formation by the self-trapping of a (1 + 1)D beam in polymeric media based on a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix containing phenanthrenequinone (PQ) molecules is predicted theoretically and observed experimentally for the first time. Particular attention is paid to the effect of thermal beam expansion, which in conjunction with the photorefractive nonlinearity of the medium results in the possibility to control optically the geometrical parameters of the generated channel.

Formation of self-trapping waveguides in bulk PMMA media doped with Phenanthrenequinone

Experimental and theoretical investigations of light self-trapping waveguides in a bulk polymeric medium based on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) with photosensitive phenanthrenequinone (PQ)-molecules are examined. Self-channeling was generated for the first time in this nonlinear bulk PQ-PMMA media with a thickness up to several millimeters and 0.1 mol. % PQ-concentration. The experimental formation of volume waveguide structures with a length of 2 - 3 cm at different laser wavelengths (405 nm, 488 nm, and 514.5 nm) was demonstrated. The calculations based on a model for the laser beam propagation in the bulk PQ-PMMA medium with competitive nonlinearities are in a good agreement with the experiments.

Beam self-trapping and self-bending dynamics in a strontium barium niobate crystal

We investigate experimentally and theoretically the self-trapping and the self-bending of a laser beam with input diameters between 18 and 40 μm in a photorefractive strontium barium niobate crystal dependent on the applied electric field, the input beam diameter, and the input beam intensity. We find out the parameters for the optimal focusing, i.e., the beam is self-trapped to a determined diameter independently on the input diameter.

New thermostable copolymers for holographic storage based on methylmethacrylate with methacrylamide or methacrylic acid

Two new copolymers based on methylmethacrylate (MMA) with methacrylamide (MAA) and methacrylic acid (MA) containing distributed phenanthrenequinone (PQ) molecules are fabricated for the purpose of optical recording by generating holographic diffractive structures under argon laser illumination. Chemical conditions for the formation of holograms are discussed and confirmed by the spectral characteristics of the material. Thermal and adhesive properties were improved with the aim of expanding the range of polymer application and generating of diffractive elements with long term stability and high optical quality.