Dynamically produced refractive-index variations with thickness of volume holograms in electrooptic crystals

Dynamic theory of volume holography is used to calculate the variations in the thickness direction of the hologram-constituting refractive-index modulation and the externally observable effects of these variations in electrooptic materials. It is shown that thick holographic gratings may exhibit significant amplitude and grating phase variations with thickness including amplitude sign reversal. These nonuniformities strongly affect holographic grating recording and readout characteristics such as maximum possible diffraction efficiency and angular selectivity. Thus a variety of grating applications will be affected by these nonuniformities.