A solid mechanics approach to surface relief formation in photosensitive hybrid sol-gel materials

Surface corrugation has been photo-induced in a single-step process in hybrid sol-gel thin films. A model based on elastic deformation under photo-induced stress is developed to explain relief formation in this material. Computation is carried out with finite-element software. Theoretical and experimental values of relief amplitude variation with film thickness and grating period agree for small deformations. Mass transfer from illuminated to non-illuminated areas has to be associated with the elastic model to account for surface corrugation in the case of large photo-induced deformation. A comparison with a fluid mechanics model is presented.