Analysis of Diffraction Characteristics of Holographic Grating in Photopolymer Films by Beam Propagation Method

Abstract

Photopolymers are photopolymerized organic material, which are suitable for recording thick phase holograms. In addition, photopolymers are stable media with high diffraction efficiency; therefore, they are widely used as holographic recording media. A photopolymer must satisfy certain criteria to qualify as a practical recording medium. However, the reaction processes of such photopolymers are highly complicated. In this study, we have simulated the formation of diffraction gratings in photopolymers using the diffusion model based on elementary reactions, and analyzed their diffraction characteristics in detail by the beam propagation method. By this method, we analyzed and obtained diffraction characteristics that are otherwise difficult to analyze by conventional methods such as coupled-wave and rigorous coupled-wave analyses. Moreover, we also performed experimental interference fringe recording and evaluated the recording characteristics of photopolymer media. We consider that the results of our analysis will provide useful information for the development of holographic data storage.