TY  - JOUR
A1  - Yadavalli, Nataraja Sekhar
A1  - Santer, Svetlana
T1  - In-situ atomic force microscopy study of the mechanism of surface relief grating formation in photosensitive polymer films
T2  - Journal of applied physics
N2  - When photosensitive azobenzene-containing polymer films are irradiated with light interference patterns, topographic variations in the film develop that follow the local distribution of the electric field vector. The exact correspondence of e.g., the vector orientation in relation to the presence of local topographic minima or maxima is in general difficult to determine. Here, we report on a systematic procedure how this can be accomplished. For this, we devise a new set-up combining an atomic force microscope and two-beam interferometry. With this set-up, it is possible to track the topography change in-situ, while at the same time changing polarization and phase of the impinging interference pattern. This is the first time that an absolute correspondence between the local distribution of electric field vectors and the local topography of the relief grating could be established exhaustively. Our setup does not require a complex mathematical post-processing and its simplicity renders it interesting for characterizing photosensitive polymer films in general.
Y1  - 2013
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/34936
SN  - 0021-8979
SN  - 1089-7550
VL  - 113
IS  - 22
PB  - American Institute of Physics
CY  - Melville
ER  -