Hologram recording and the electrooptic effect in azobenzene derivative polymers and azobenzene derivative-cobalt polycomplexes

The electrooptic effect and the kinetics of recording/erasing the hologram of a plane wavefront in films of the 4-methacryloxy-(4′-carboxy-3′-oxy)azobenzene-cobalt polycomplex and 4-carboxy-3-oxy-3′-carboxy-4′-oxyazobenzene-cobalt polymer are studied. The electrooptic properties of the films depend on the reorientation of the polarized-light-induced dipole moments of azobenzene groups in an external electric field and, eventually, on forces acting on the azo groups and metal ions. It is found that the characteristic times of the electrooptic effect and holographic grating formation are longer in the polymer with an intrachain coordination of the metal ions.