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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Illumination of photochromic liquid-crystalline (PCLC) copolymer films with polarized light during the mesophase formation has been studied. Both thick pressed and thin spin-coated, the films show prominent increase in photoinduced orientation, as compared with conventional isothermal photorecording. Two methods of the thermoassisted recording have been suggested, one of those with simultaneous cooling of the film and another one after a shock heating and quenching. The photoinduced birefringence, Δnind, and the order parameter of photochromic groups, Sazo, have been measured. The thermally assisted recording produces holographic gratings with high diffraction efficiency, η, up to 20-30%.