Transient diffraction gratings were holographically made in dyed plastic by absorbing laser light. Mean energy values of 40 mJ/cm2 absorbed in a 3-mm thick layer were needed to make gratings that lasted about 10 s. The writing beams and a reading one of different wavelength were simultaneously made to fall on the plastic: the reading beam was diffracted by the grating, which produced transient diffracted beams of sufficient intensity to be seen by the naked eye or to be stored permanently by conventional photographic methods. Curves showing diffraction efficiency versus exposure with grating frequency as a parameter are presented. Applications to real-time single and double exposure holography are also discussed.
