Patent ID: 7951922

Claim:
A photoresponsive heterocyclic azo oligomer or polymer having a photoresponsive moiety in at least one of the main chain and side chain, the photoresponsive moiety being a building block represented by the following formula (1): wherein HC 1 and HC 2 each represent a ring structure, at least one of them being a heterocyclic structure selected from the group consisting of a pyrazole and a pyridine, R 1 and R 2 each represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent connected to the ring structure and may be the same or different ones, s and t each represent the number thereof, and X 1 and X 2 each represent a terminal group or a linking group, at least one of them being a linking group connected to the main chain of the oligomer or polymer and the terminal group being a cyano group, wherein the side chain is a monotolan or bistolan optically anisotropic group.