Optical storage in a smectic mesophase: thermal amplification of light-induced chromophore orientations and surface relief gratings

This contribution is concerned with the exceptionally strong influence of smectic mesophase formation on the optically induced orientation and on the surface relief grating formation in a liquid crystalline melamine derivative containing azobenzene groups. We demonstrate that the strong amplification of optically induced holographic gratings by thermal treatment is not only caused by the enhancement of photo-orientation through the mesophase formation, but is furthermore a consequence of significant amplification of the amplitude of surface relief gratings during the thermal development.