Unusual surface reliefs from photoinduced creeping and aggregation behavior of azopolymer

Abstract

We report the spontaneous formation of unusual surface reliefs, in which two sets of sinusoidal gratings were hierarchically structured, merely by single-step holographic inscription on amorphous azopolymer films. By monitoring of growth behavior of surface reliefs during holographic inscription, we found that the formation of additional grating is caused by the creeping and resulting aggregation of dome structures. Our direct observation of creeping and aggregation behavior is expected to contribute to enhancing the understanding of unusual surface reliefs, and also in fabricating complex surface reliefs.