Image recording on photothermoplastic media with different thicknesses of the thermoplastic layer

The quality of images recorded on photothermoplastic media (PTPMs) with various thicknesses of the thermoplastic layer is investigated. It is found that the potential of a corona-forining electrode initiating deformations on a PTPM surface and the diffraction efficiency, corresponding, to the additional maxima in its dependence on the spatial frequency, increase with decreasing thickness of the thermoplastic layer, in contrast to the diffraction efficiency at the resonance frequency. It is shown that the frequencies corresponding to additional maxima in the dependence of the diffraction efficiency on the spatial frequency are preferable for application as the carrier frequency for raster-scan recording and as the center carrier frequency For holographic image recording on PTPMs in order to reach a higher diffraction efficiency, image contrast, and signal-to-noise ratio than those attainable at the resonance frequency. An anomalous relation between the resolution and sensitivity of PTPMs is found under the suggested recording conditions and carrier frequencies. It is shown that both the resolution and the sensitivity of PTPMs increase with decreasing thickness of the thermoplastic layer. (C) 2003 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".