ISSN 0018-1439, High Energy Chemistry, 2006, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 178–181. © Pleiades Publishing, Inc., 2006. Original Russian Text © V.V. Bivol, S.V. Robu, A.M. Prisacari, A.Yu. Meshalkin, L.A. Vlad, M.I. Karaman, 2006, published in Khimiya Vysokikh Energii, 2006, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 216–219. 178 1 In the last decades, particular attention was given to investigation of photoresist media based on carbazole- containing polymers, such as poly-N-vinylcarbazole (PVK); poly-N-epoxypropylcarbazole (PEPC); and copolymers of carbazolylalkyl methacrylates (CAM) with alkyl methacrylates, including octyl methacrylate (OMA) [1–3], sensitized with polyhalogenated meth- ane derivatives and other additives as activators. Photo- sensitive layers made from these compositions make it possible to record analog and holographic images with high photographic characteristics. For example, as shown in [4, 5], holographic gratings and images with a diffraction efficiency up to 20% and a resolution of 2000 mm –1 were obtained on the photoresist PEPC and CAM : OMA copolymer media sensitized with tri- iodomethane. However, two-component systems pos- sess low photosensitivity of the order of 10 –2 J cm –2 . To enhance the photosensitivity of such photoresist media, we studied in this work these photoresist materials made from carbazolylalkyl methacrylate copolymers and polyepoxypropylcarbazole sensitized with tri- iodomethane or additives of indolynospirobenzopyran photochromic materials (5–15%). EXPERIMENTAL Carbazolylalkyl methacrylate–octyl methacrylate copolymers containing 60–80 mol % of CAM units were prepared by solution polymerization in the pres- ence of an initiator (AIBN) at a temperature of 80°C. 1 e-mail: bivol@as.md Poly-N-epoxypropylcarbazole was synthesized by anionic polymerization at 120°C. In all cases, the syn- thesized polymers were purified by single or double reprecipitation from methanol. For complete drying, they were held in a vacuum drying oven at 50°C to a constant weight. Solutions (10–15%) of synthesized copolymers, mainly CAM : OMA (60 : 40 mol %) and (80 : 20 mol %) copolymers and PEPC, containing triiodomethane (10 wt %) and photochromic 6'-bromo-8'-nitro-1,3,3- trimethylindolinspirobenzpyran (BNSP) (5–15%) were prepared in toluene or chlorobenzene. Photopolymer layers (PPLs) were applied by cast- ing from solutions on a flexible poly(ethylene tereph- thalate) substrate with the use of a special meniscus device. The layer thickness n was varied from 2 to 10 μm. To prepare thicker layers, solutions with a con- centration higher than 15% were taken. After the stor- age of the samples in air, the layers were additionally dried in a vacuum drying oven at ambient temperature. The thickness of the layers was monitored with an MMI-4 interference microscope. Photoresist layers were irradiated by UV light from a PRK-4 mercury lamp (E = 4.0 J cm –2 ) and by a tung- sten filament lamp (600 W, E = 80000 lx). Changes in the optical density in the layers were observed both visually or with an SF-18 spectrophotometer. High quality holograms were obtained with a setup based on a 1-W continuous-wave Ar ion laser and a 20-mW He–Cd laser. This equipment allowed us to obtain high-quality holographic images with a depth PROCESSES AND MATERIALS FOR OPTICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS Study of Sensitometric and Holographic Properties of Photoresist Media Based on Carbazole-Containing Polymers Sensitized with Triiodomethane and Pyran Photochromic Materials V. V. Bivol a , 1 S. V. Robu b , A. M. Prisacari a , A. Yu. Meshalkin a , L. A. Vlad a , and M. I. Karaman b a Optoelectronics Center, Academy of Sciences of Moldova, ul. Akademiei 1, Chisinau, MD-2028 Moldova b State University of Moldova, ul. Mateevich 60, Chisinau, MD-2003 Moldova Received January 19, 2005 Abstract—Sensitometric and holographic properties of photoresist layers made from carbazolylalkyl meth- acrylate copolymers and polyepoxypropylcarbazole sensitized with triiodomethane and, additionally, spiropy- ran photochromic compounds were studied. It was found that the introduction of photochromic 6'-bromo-8'- nitro-1,3,3-trimethylindolylspirobenzopyran (8–12%) into photoresist layers increased their photographic sen- sitivity by a factor of 2.5–3 up to the values of 10 –3 –10 –4 J cm –2 and shifted their spectral sensitivity to the blue- green region. The feasibility of recording quality holograms in the photoresist layers using coherent He–Cd laser light (λ = 420 nm), as well as argon laser light (λ = 490 nm), was shown. Diffraction gratings with an efficiency of 15–20% and a resolution of 2000 mm –1 were obtained. DOI: 10.1134/S001814390603009X