Characteristics of a Surface Relief Grating on an Azo Polymer Film with a Gold Nano-Particle Layer

Abstract

In this research, we investigated the effect of thin layered gold nano-particles on the formation of a surface relef grating (SRG) on an azo polymer film. The film was composed of two layers, a layer of uniformly-distributed gold nano-particles with a pure azo polymer (Disperse Red 1) film. The SRG was formed by using a two-beam interference technique. The two writing beams were adjusted as p-polarization states in order to induce the localized surface plasmon effect in the gold nano-particle layer. The variation of the height of the SRG with the dipping time of the gold nano-particle layer was measured and analyzed by using atomic force microscopy. The height of the SRG sensitively depends on the dipping time of the gold nano-particle layer and the height of the SRG could be enhanced tip to 3.3 times that for the case of a pure azo polymer film without a gold nano-particle layer.