Sealing DCG

[Colin Kaminski]

Have there been any new advances in DCG sealing in the last 10 years?

[Din]

New materials have come out that are more resistant to humidity. At the end of the day, it really depends on what you intend to do with them. If you simply do it as a hobby and keep your holograms in your area, the same old stuff will work just fine. If, however, you intend to send them to parts with high humidity and temperatures (such as India) you need to use something appropriate to the area you're sending them to.

[Colin Kaminski]

Thank you Dinesh, I am planning to use the scrape the edge for 6mm and laminating a glass plate option. Can you recommend a sealant?

[Joe Farina]

So far, I haven't made a hologram good enough for long-term preservation, but this is the material I want to use:

http://www.hxtal.com/

The silane pre-treatment is necessary, as shown in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6Ysd04b05Y

When I want to save a hologram for the short term (a couple years or so), I simply place it in an air-tight plastic container with some indicating silica gel:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#silica-gel/=105y6df

This needs to be monitored every few months or so, in case the crystals turn pink (plastic containers are of course not completely air-tight). I like this better, compared to sealing with UV (or other) adhesive, because it's faster/easier, and also because the hologram can be re-processed if you want.

[ahgu]

Did you find an epoxy with refractive index around between 1.4-1.45? Seems that is close to to the DCG.