Holographic grating formation in a colloidal suspension of silver nanoparticles

Abstract

Holographic gratings are recorded in colloidal suspensions of silver nanoparticles by utilizing interfering nanosecond pulses. The diffraction efficiency is measured with continuous-wave light. An instantaneous response together with a transient grating are observed: the nanoparticles absorb the pump light and heat up. Heat is transferred to the solvent, and a delayed thermal grating appears. The final decay time constant of this grating depends quadratically on the period length and has a typical value of 1 µs for grating spacings of several micrometers.

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© 2006 Optical Society of America Original Manuscript: October 7, 2005; Manuscipt Accepted: November 9, 2005; Revised Manusctipt: November 9, 2005 Financial support of the Deutsche Telekom AG, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and the DARPA center for optofluidic integration is gratefully acknowledged.

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