<title>Optically induced switching of dicyclohexylamino substituted azobenzene derivatives in thin ordered films</title>

During the last years, there has been an increasing interest in the photoinduced switching effects. Among the objects of concern azobenzene derivatives, isomerizing under UV and visible light, occupy a prominent position. To understand the photoresponse of these materials in the condensed phase, their spectroscopic and electrical properties are studied. It is shown that the photoresponse depends on the orientation of the molecules and their packing. A number of novel azobenzene derivatives containing a N,N-dicyclohexyl sulfonamide moiety is synthesized. The derivatives differ in the length of alkyl chains between the azobenzene moiety and SH or COOH groups. The morphology and the photoinduc…