Faster grating buildup characteristics in low silanol-containing polysilane-based photorefractive polymer

The effect of silanol content on the grating buildup dynamics was examined by preparing two different lots of polymethylphenylsilane (PMPS). While the high silanol-containing PMPS showed very sluggish grating formation time, the lower silanol-containing PMPS exhibited very rapid grating formation in a diffraction efficiency measurement. The diffraction efficiency, on the other hand, was found to be unaffected. The results suggest that the silanol is acting as hole trap and a reduction of its content is a key to improving the response characteristics of polysilane-based photoconducting electro-optic polymer composite for photorefractive applications.