Photoinduced surface relief gratings SRGs

Surface-relief grating (SRG, regular topological surface modification) formed via irradiation with an interference pattern of coherent light has been demonstrated only recently/ " and is perhaps the most attractive target in the current research of azo polymers (Chapters 13 and 14 of this book focus on this subject). It is still unclear whether there are any common mechanisms involved between SRG formation and the photomechanical response observed in monolayers described in Section 15.4.1. Nevertheless, with regard to photoinduced motions in Az polymers, it is quite important to proceed with SRG experiments. 

The photoinduced immobilization technique is closely related to the formation process used for surface relief gratings (SRG) because both phenomena are based on mass transportation of the azopolymer surface. The relief structure on the azopolymer surface is induced by the interference of the two coherent beams that are used for the irradiation, with the same periodic structure as the interference light, as shown in Fig. 9.3. Intensive studies for SRG formation have been reported since it was first developed in 1995 (Batalla et al., 1995 Kim et al., 1995). Various deformed structures that can be induced by photoirradiation... 

---