Influence of the glass-transition temperature and the chromophore content on the grating buildup dynamics of poly(N-vinylcarbazole)-based photorefractive polymers

The influence of the glass-transition temperature T-g and the electro-optical chromophore content on the grating buildup dynamics in photorefractive polymer composites is investigated The response times were found to be strongly dependent on both parameters. In the low-T-g regime, composites of different chromophore content respond similarly quickly (200-500 ms), whereas significant differences occur for T-g above the measurement (room) temperature. The composites with the highest chromophore content give the best steady-state performance; however, their response is much slower than that for those containing less chromophore. (C) 1998 Optical Society of America.