Study of angular responses of mixed amplitude--phase holographic gratings: shifted Borrmann effect.

We present theoretical results for angular responses of transmitted and diffracted beams in mixed amplitude-phase holographic gratings. Experimental results for gratings recorded in photographic emulsions and developed without a bleaching bath, with diffraction efficiencies of >20% , are also presented. The model shows an angular shift between minimum transmittance and maximum diffraction efficiency when both index modulation and absorption coefficient modulation are present. Also, the Borrmann effect was found outside the Bragg angle. This method can be extended to a study of the mechanism of image formation in materials such as bacteriorhodopsin and azo-dye-doped polymers that exhibit both types of modulations (index and absorption).