The vectorial holographic lithography in azomaterials: phenomenology, challenges, and future directions
Abstract
Holographic lithography in azobenzene-containing polymers has evolved from classical interference-based surface relief grating formation into a versatile platform for maskless, all-optical, and reconfigurable surface patterning. In its current iteration, this approach requires treating holography as a fully vectorial process, in which polarization is a design variable on the same level as the amplitude of the writing light field. Here we provide a perspective on the current status of vectorial holographic lithography in azomaterial films. We organize the phenomenology around the two limiting cases of surface deformations driven by structured polarization fields at nearly uniform intensity, and relief formation driven by structured intensity fields under nearly uniform polarization. We interpret both regimes within the emerging viscoplastic photoalignment framework, which coherently links molecular photoreorientation to a light-induced anisotropic stress tensor and to polarization-controlled stress pathways that can drive mass migration. Building on state-of-the-art implementations based on spatial light modulators, we outline routes toward holographic lithography with more complex structured light, where polarization, intensity, wavelength, and temporal dynamics could be co-designed within a higher-dimensional parameter space. We conclude by highlighting the main opportunities and challenges in the field. These include understanding and harnessing the non-linear morphological response of azomaterials, developing inverse design strategies for complex light fields, implementing in-situ optical metrology for real-time feedback and control, and scaling these approaches to larger areas. Progress along these directions could enable robust, predictive, and scalable lithographic workflows capable of patterning surfaces with multiple degrees of freedom of light.
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BibTeX
@article{salvatore2026vectorial,
title = {{The vectorial holographic lithography in azomaterials: phenomenology, challenges, and future directions}},
author = {Marcella Salvatore and Stefano Luigi Oscurato},
journal = {Journal of Physics: Photonics},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1088/2515-7647/ae7ebb},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05789706v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The vectorial holographic lithography in azomaterials: phenomenology, challenges, and future directions
AU - Marcella Salvatore
AU - Stefano Luigi Oscurato
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/09
JO - Journal of Physics: Photonics
DO - 10.1088/2515-7647/ae7ebb
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05789706v1
AB - Holographic lithography in azobenzene-containing polymers has evolved from classical interference-based surface relief grating formation into a versatile platform for maskless, all-optical, and reconfigurable surface patterning. In its current iteration, this approach requires treating holography as a fully vectorial process, in which polarization is a design variable on the same level as the amplitude of the writing light field. Here we provide a perspective on the current status of vectorial holographic lithography in azomaterial films. We organize the phenomenology around the two limiting cases of surface deformations driven by structured polarization fields at nearly uniform intensity, and relief formation driven by structured intensity fields under nearly uniform polarization. We interpret both regimes within the emerging viscoplastic photoalignment framework, which coherently links molecular photoreorientation to a light-induced anisotropic stress tensor and to polarization-controlled stress pathways that can drive mass migration. Building on state-of-the-art implementations based on spatial light modulators, we outline routes toward holographic lithography with more complex structured light, where polarization, intensity, wavelength, and temporal dynamics could be co-designed within a higher-dimensional parameter space. We conclude by highlighting the main opportunities and challenges in the field. These include understanding and harnessing the non-linear morphological response of azomaterials, developing inverse design strategies for complex light fields, implementing in-situ optical metrology for real-time feedback and control, and scaling these approaches to larger areas. Progress along these directions could enable robust, predictive, and scalable lithographic workflows capable of patterning surfaces with multiple degrees of freedom of light.
SN - 2515-7647
ER -