Self-diffraction of radiation by light-induced phase gratings

An analysis is made of self-diffraction of radiation by gratings formed as a result of bleaching and thermal changes in the refractive index of absorbing and bleachable substances. Experimental results are reported for thin layers of solutions of chlorinated gallium and magnesium phthalocyanines in pyridine and of copper sulfate in water. The experimental value of the efficiency of the first-order self-diffraction is close to the theoretical limit for a thin phase grating. A study of spatial images in real time, obtained using a solution of ciyptocyanine in ethanol as a recording material, shows that transient holography can be used for in-line information processing.