Enhanced diffraction efficiency of mixed volume gratings with nanorod dopants in polymeric nanocomposite

Abstract

We propose a method to improve the holographic performance of a volume holographic material by the particle-shape dependence of doped nanoparticles. Previously reported methods are based on changing the doping concentration of dopants and the diameter of nanoparticles or modifying the surface of nanoparticles. When transverse surface plasmon resonance of optimized gold nanorods shifts near the recording wavelength, experiments confirmed that enhancement of diffraction efficiency by efficient dopants of gold nanorods is better than that of gold nanospheres. The enhancement effects under optimal mixing conditions occur with a crucial factor of maximum absorption intensity at the recording wavelength using the particle-shape dependence of doping nanorods. The gold nanorods with an average diameter of 10 ± 2.1 nm and an average length of 34 ± 5 nm are doped in Phenanthrenequinone-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) photopolymers. The diffraction efficiency of volume holographic grating in the photopolymer doped with nanorods is 18.5% higher than that in the photopolymer doped with nanospheres and 29.6% higher than that in the pure photopolymer.