We present an overview of recent investigations of photopolymerizable nanocomposite photonic materials in which, thanks to their high degree of material selectivity, recorded volume gratings possess high refractive index modulation amplitude and high mechanical/thermal stability at the same time, providing versatile applications in light and neutron optics. We discuss the mechanism of grating formation in holographically exposed nanocomposite materials, based on a model of the photopolymerization-driven mutual diffusion of monomer and nanoparticles. Experimental inspection of the recorded grating’s morphology by various physicochemical and optical methods is described. We then outline the holographic recording properties of volume gratings recorded in photopolymerizable nanocomposite materials consisting of inorganic/organic nanoparticles and monomers having various photopolymerization mechanisms. Finally, we show two examples of our holographic applications, holographic digital data storage and slow-neutron beam control.

中文翻译：

---

光聚合纳米复合光子材料及其在光和中子光学中的全息应用

我们概述了光聚合纳米复合光子材料的最新研究，其中由于其高度的材料选择性，记录体光栅同时具有高折射率调制幅度和高机械/热稳定性，在光和热学领域提供了多种应用。中子光学。我们基于光聚合驱动的单体和纳米颗粒相互扩散模型，讨论了全息曝光纳米复合材料中光栅形成的机制。描述了通过各种物理化学和光学方法对记录的光栅形态进行实验检查。然后，我们概述了记录在由无机/有机纳米粒子和具有各种光聚合机制的单体组成的可光聚合纳米复合材料中的体光栅的全息记录特性。最后，我们展示了全息应用的两个示例：全息数字数据存储和慢中子束控制。