Nonlocal photopolymerization kinetics including multiple termination mechanisms and dark reactions. Part II. Experimental validation

Abstract

In the first of this series of papers [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 26, 1736 (2009)], a new kinetic model, which includes most of the major photochemical and nonlocal photopolymerization driven diffusion effects, was proposed. Predictions made using the model were presented, and the numerical convergence of these simulations were examined when retaining higher-concentration harmonics. The validity and generality of the model is examined by applying it to fit experimental data for two different types of photopolymer material appearing in the literature. The first of these photopolymer materials involves an acrylamide monomer in a polyvinylalcohol matrix. The second is a more complex photopolymer in an epoxy resin matrix. Using the new model, key material parameters are extracted by numerically fitting experimentally obtained diffraction efficiency growth curves. The growth curves used include data captured both during exposure and post-exposure, allowing examination and analysis of "dark reactions".