Hello,
I work in holography recording gratings in PMMA. To achieve a photosensitive material first I prepare the samples from liquid MMA + AIBN + PQ (phenanthraquinone) in a very rustic mold that is then slowly baked at 55C for days. The solid samples are then cut to fit and exposed to 488 nm radiation that activated the PQ. As I understand the PQ does a very similar job on the remaining MMA as the AIBN did in the oven before with most of the MMA, just that instead of heat, PQ needs 488nm radiation.
The exposure takes 32 seconds only but the grating strenght is very low right after the exposure. After waiting for 24 hours in the dark, a diffusion process of the unexposed PQ takes place that enhances the contrast lets say. You can think of it as a periodic structure where the period is given by alternating regions where the PQ is illuminated and regions where it was NOT illuminated. The diffusion must take place in between these regions and all over the structure. Plotting the grating strenght versus time gives a curve that saturates after 24 hrs approx.
I am an electrical eng. working in optics and holography so my polymer knowledge is very limited. I was wondering if there is any kind of model for this diffusion process, like in MATLAB.
Thanks
Juan