Photochromic gratings in sol–gel films containing diazo sulfonamide chromophore

Abstract The photochromic sol–gel hybrid materials were prepared by incorporation of an azo chromophore containing sulfonamide fragment into polysiloxane cross-linked network. The materials were used to form transparent films on glass by spin-coating and/or casting. The reversible change of refraction index of the films on illumination with white light was observed by ellipsometry. The experiments with two beam coupling (TBC) and four wave mixing (4 WM) arrangement with green or blue laser beams as writing beams showed formation of a diffraction grating. The diffraction efficiency of the first order was 0.025–0.038 which yielded refraction index modulation in the range of up to 0.0066.