Haloalkane-based polymeric mixtures for high density optical data storage

We present an investigation on new organic mixtures for high resolution holographic data recording. Reflection holograms were obtained via blue laser light irradiation (λ = 457.9 nm) on photo-sensitive acrylate and 1-chloro-hexane or 1-bromo-hexane based mixtures. These haloalkanes were selected on the basis of their ability to originate phase separation from acrylate during the photo-polymerization process and for their lower refractive index with respect to the used poly-acrylate monomer. This last property allowed the achievement of a good dielectric contrast between polymer and haloalkane-rich layers. The recorded holograms have been investigated and optically characterized focusing on holographic data storage requirements. Finally, the results were compared with those concerning holographic polymer dispersed liquid crystal, already proposed for optical data storage applications.