Spontaneous formation of optically induced surface relief gratings

We develop a model based on Fick\u27s law of diffusion as a phenomenological description of the molecular motion, and on the coupled mode theory, to describe single-beam surface relief grating formation in azopolymer thin films. The model allows us to explain the mechanism of spontaneous patterning, and self-organization. It allows us to compute the surface relief profile and its evolution, with good agreement with experiments