The multifunctional azopolymers (PAZ-R +*) containing azobenzene moieties with chiral group were synthesized as a new class of optical polymers.The structure of polymers was characterized by GPC, elemental analysis and circular dichroism.The optical phase conjugated responses of the polymer films were investigated by the degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM).Furthermore, the photo-induced holographic phase gratings of the films were characterized by POM.The experimental results showed that optically active polymers(PAZ-R +*) containing chiral groups could form holographic phase gratings buried in the films.From the preliminary measurements of photoalignment, it was found that the chiral group in side-chain azobenzene polymer films could play an important role in responding polarization direction of the irradiating beams and the irradiating number.The chiral group was found to have influence on changing physical properties such as optical phase conjugated characteristics effectively and on the formation of microstructures in the film.Further studies on the photoinduced properties of side-chain azobenzene polymer films with chiral groups are in progress.
