Appeal No. 1997-3528
Application No. 08/230,659
Claim 11 is illustrative of the claims on appeal and is
reproduced below:
11. A process for holographic storage in a
photorefractive polymeric optical article comprising
a polymer and a non linear optical chromophore
comprising the steps of (i) exposing the article to
electromagnetic radiation having an intensity of at
least 0.05 W/cm to obtain an absorbed energy/unit2
4 3
volume of at least 1 x 10 J/cm from said radiation
to activate the article without forming an index
grating and (ii) exposing said article to an
external electric field and electromagnetic
radiation to cause formation of an index grating
provided one of the step (i) or step (ii) exposures
is with two intersecting beams of coherent
electromagnetic radiation and the other step
exposure is a flood exposure.
The subject matter on appeal relates to a process for
holographic storage in a photorefractive polymeric optical
article comprising the recited steps (i) and (ii). According
to the appellants, “[t]he key feature of the present
invention” is to expose the article to a particular level of
electromagnetic radiation without forming an index grating so
as “to activate the article and enhance subsequent index
grating formation in the article during the writing process.”
(Principal appeal brief, pages 3-4.)
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