Permanent polarization gratings in photosensitive Langmuir-Blodgett films

An investigation was carried out on thin permanent phase polarization gratings recorded in Langmuir-Blodgett films using two orthogonal circularly polarized Ar-ion laser beams. The films are composed of amphiphilic azo-dye molecules and manifest an extremely large value of photoinduced optical anisotropy, Delta n approximate to 0.36. The experimental results are in excellent accord with the theoretical model based on the Jones matrix representation of the polarization pattern. The gratings are stable at least, for half a year. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)04236-4].