The anisotropic nanomovement of azo-polymers

Nanoscale polymer movement is induced by a tightly focused laser beam in an azo-polymer film just at the diffraction limit of light. The deformation pattern that is produced by photoisomerization of the azo dye is strongly dependent on the incident laser polarization and the longitudinal focus position of the laser beam along the optical axis. The anisotropic photo-fluidity of the polymer film and the optical gradient force played important roles in the light induced polymer movement. We also explored the limits of the size of the photo-induced deformation, and we found that the deformation depends on the laser intensity and the exposure time. The smallest deformation size achieved was 200 nm in full width of half maximum; a value which is nearly equal to the size of the diffraction limited laser spot. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.