Combinative action of zinc chloride and triethanolamine on improving photosensitivity in red-sensitized dichromated gelatin for optical storage

An experimental study to ascertain the combinative action of zinc chloride and triethanolamine (TEA) on improving photosensitivity of red-sensitized dichromated gelatin (RSDCG) has been carried out. Firstly, the exposure properties of home-made RSDCG were studied experimentally. Then, zinc chloride, a kind of Louis' acid, was added into the RSDCG to observe its catalytic effect on photo-cross-linking of gelatin molecules in RSDCG. After that, TEA, as a kind of external electron donor in RSDCG photo-chemical reaction, was introduced into RSDCG to make its photosensitivity higher in this study. Finally, the combinative effect of zinc chloride and TEA on the photosensitivity in RSDCG holograms was studied. The results show: (1) Zinc chloride and TEA have obvious combinative effect on improving the photosensitivity of RSDCG. (2) The curve of diffraction efficiency of RSDCG holographic transmission grating versus exposure energy is bell-shaped. (3) The maximum diffraction efficiency of the grating can reach as high as 83% corresponding to the exposure energy about 200 mJ/cm 2 .