Ultrasensitive and high-dynamic-range two-photon absorption in a GaAs photomultiplier tube

We demonstrate improved efficiency and dynamic range for two-photon absorption at 1.5 microm in a photoelectron-counting GaAs photomultiplier tube. cw laser measurements show pure two-photon absorption occurring in the device from average powers of 1.3 microW to nearly 1 mW. We use the detector to implement an autocorrelator with peak-power x average-power sensitivity of 1.7 x 10(-4) (mW)(2) and discuss practical ways to reduce this figure of merit to as low as 1 x 10(-5) (mW)(2).     

咔唑类化合物的光谱特性与三光子激射

测量了一系列新合成的咔唑类化合物的光谱特性。光谱研究结果发现端基团的选择引起双光子吸收截面的巨大变化。用1.3 μm强fs激光激发其中一双光子吸收截面高达617.3 GM的分子溶液,其波长和时间分辨光谱特性表明此分子的高方向性光发射是三光子诱导激射。[1 GM(Gppert-Mayer)=10-50 cm4·s·(photon)-1]。     

Self-phase modulation in polydiacetylene single crystal measured at 720-1064nm

Detailed measurement of spectral broadening in a poly-[2, 4 hexadiyne-1, 6 diol-bis-(p -toluene sulfonate)] (PTS) single crystal owing to self-phase modulation was performed as a function of wavelength by use of a Ti:sapphire laser producing 200-fs pulses at 720-920 nm and a Nd:YAG laser producing 50-ps pulses at 1064 nm. The nonlinear refractive index (n(2)) of PTS at these wavelengths was determined from the measured phase shift. Group-velocity dispersion was estimated and found to have a negligible effect on the observed spectral broadening. The two-photon absorption coefficient (alpha(2)) over this wavelength range was determined from nonlinear transmission measurements. The largest magnitude of n(2) observed at 720 nm was 3.9x10(-5)cm (2)/MW . The results show that the magnitude of n(2) monotonically decreases as wavelength is increased away from resonance, and two-photon absorption does not make a significant contribution to n(2) at off-resonant wavelengths up to 1064 nm.     

Dispersion tailoring and soliton propagation in silicon waveguides

The dispersive properties of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides are studied by using the effective-index method. Extensive calculations indicate that an SOI waveguide can be designed to have its zero-dispersion wavelength near 1.5 microm with reasonable device dimensions. Numerical simulations show that soliton-like pulse propagation is achievable in such a waveguide in the spectral region at approximately 1.55 microm. The concept of path-averaged solitons is used to minimize the impact of linear loss and two-photon absorption.     

双氰基荧光染料的合成、光学性质及其生物成像

设计合成了一种A-π-D-π-A型的双光子荧光染料3,6-双(4-乙烯基苯腈)-9-乙基咔唑,测试了其在二氯甲烷(DCM)、乙酸乙酯(EA)、乙醇(Et OH)、乙腈(ACN)、二甲亚砜(DMSO)和磷酸缓冲盐溶液(PBS)等不同溶剂中的紫外吸收光谱、单光子及双光子荧光光谱。化合物3,6-双(4-乙烯基苯腈)-9-乙基咔唑在紫外吸收光谱中存在两个相似的特征吸收带并呈现出复杂的溶剂化效应,在DMSO中具有最大荧光量子产率(86.02%),其相应的活性吸收截面为12.56 GM。在双光子荧光成像方面,染料分子具有优良的细胞膜通透性并且在双光子荧光显微镜下呈现出明亮的绿色荧光,表现出较好的双光子荧光成像性能。这些数据表明,化合物3,6-双(4-乙烯基苯腈)-9-乙基咔唑可用作一种较为理想的双光子荧光标记染料。     

双光子吸收材料二苯乙烯衍生物的合成及光谱性质

设计、合成并用红外光谱、1H NMR、元素分析表征了三种用于双光子吸收材料的二苯乙烯衍生物,4,4′-双(二苯氨基-反式-苯乙烯基)联苯(BPSBP),4,4′-双(二乙氨基-反式-苯乙烯基)联苯(BESBP)和4,4′-双(9-咔唑基-反式-苯乙烯基)联苯(BCSBP)。实验结果表明三者最强的单光子吸收出现在350～400 nm之间,且单光子吸收和荧光光谱中表现出明显的溶剂化显色效应,揭示了分子内对称电荷转移的本质,双光子荧光光谱则揭示了单光子和双光子吸收具有相同的发射机理。利用双光子上转换荧光法测试发现,三种双光子吸收材料在800 nm飞秒激光的激发下具有较大的吸收截面,分别为892,617和483 GM,这表明在双光子领域有潜在的应用价值。     

Static and Ultrafast Transient Photophysics of Mono- and Dual-Branched Triarylamines

Mono- and dual-branched molecules, { 4-[2-（4-benzothiazol-2-yl-phenyl）-vinyl]-phenyl}-（4-methoxy-phenyl）-phenyl- amine （BS1） and bis-{4-[2- （4-benzothiazol-2-yl-phenyl）-vinyI]-phenyl}-（4-methoxy-phenyI）-phenyl-amine （BS2）, are investigated with one- and two-photon static spectroscopy, and the femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion technique. The molecules show branch-based fluorescence emission at low quantum yield. U1trafast non-radiative decay on a picosecond time scale is found and is attributed to intramolecular charge-transfer bridged by the central triphenylamine. The two-photon absorption cross-sections of BS1 and BS2 are 19.1 and 19.4 GM, respectively.     

Singlet Oxygen Quantum Yield Determination for a Fluorene-Based Two-Photon Photosensitizer

The quantum yield, Φ_Δ, of singlet oxygen generation under two-photon excitation has been determined for a fluorene derivative. A photochemical method was developed using 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF), a chemical quencher of ¹O₂, and 2-(9,9-didecyl-7-nitrofluoren-2-yl)benzothiazole (1) as a two-photon photosensitizer (PS). The photochemical kinetics of the quencher was measured by two different fluorescence methods. Fluorene 1 exhibited relatively high singlet oxygen quantum yield, Φ_Δ ≈ 0.4 ± 0.1, and had a two-photon absorption cross-section of 28 ± 5 GM. Thus, 1 may have potential for use as a two-photon PS in the near-IR spectral region for biomedical applications.     

Coupled absorption filters for thermal detectors

A resonant absorption cavity that couples long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) light into a movable plate has been demonstrated for thermal detectors, especially microbolometers. Each device is continuously tunable over 8.7-11.1 microm by using electrostatic actuation with voltages from 0 to 42 V. The width of the resonance is relatively broad, approximately 1.5 microm, to match the large widths of many spectral features in the LWIR. At an actuation voltage of 45 V, the device switches into a broadband mode with an absorption width of 2.83 microm. This latter mode is used to enhance sensitivity in low-light situations in which little spectral information is present.     

Use of two-photon absorption in a photorefractive crystal for three-dimensional optical memory

We describe the use of two-photon absorption in a photorefractive crystal for recording bit data in multilayered optical memory. A short-pulse near-infrared laser is used for generating the photorefractive effect by two-photon absorption. We succeeded in recording and reading seven layers of data in a LiNbO(3) crystal with a lateral resolution (distance between bits) of 5microm and an axial resolution (distance between layers) of 20 microm .     

Multiphoton absorption and nonlinear refraction of GaAs in the mid-infrared

We report the wavelength dependencies of the two- and three-photon absorption coefficients of undoped GaAs in the spectral range 1.3-3.5 microm, as well as nonlinear refractive index n2 in the range 1.7-3.25 microm. The data were obtained by using the single-beam Z-scan method with 100-fs-long optical pulses. Anisotropy of the three-photon absorption coefficient was observed and found to be consistent with the crystal symmetry of GaAs.     

以二乙烯硫/砜基为中心的新型电荷转移分子双光子吸收特性

理论研究分子结构与双光子吸收性质之间的关系对于指导实验者设计与合成功能分子材料具有重要意义. 在杂化密度泛函水平上, 利用响应函数方法, 计算了一类以二乙烯硫/砜基为中心的新型电荷转移分子的双光子吸收截面, 并在相同计算水平上, 与联苯乙烯类强双光子吸收分子做了比较; 以新型电荷转移分子为基础, 利用异构效应, 设计出了可以增强双光子吸收强度的分子结构. 研究表明, 在可应用波长范围内, 该系列分子表现出较强的双光子吸收响应, 与相似共轭长度的强双光子吸收分子具有相同量级的双光子吸收截面; 二乙烯硫/砜基在分子中心作为吸电子基团可以形成有效的电荷转移分子; 改变咔唑基的连接方式可以有效提高双光子吸收截面. 该研究为实验合成新型双光子吸收分子材料提供了理论依据.     

Multichannel selective femtosecond coherent control based on symmetry properties

We present and implement a new scheme for extended multichannel selective femtosecond coherent control based on symmetry properties of the excitation channels. Here, an atomic nonresonant two-photon absorption channel is coherently incorporated in a resonance-mediated (2+1) three-photon absorption channel. By proper pulse shaping, utilizing the invariance of the two-photon absorption to specific phase transformations of the pulse, the three-photon absorption is tuned independently over an order-of-magnitude yield range for any possible two-photon absorption yield. Noticeable is a set of "two-photon dark pulses" inducing widely tunable three-photon absorption.     

Adaptive synthesis of optical pattern for photonic crystal lithography

The two-photon absorption spectrum and cross-section (δ) for ruby (Cr³⁺:sapphire) have been measured over the 0.8–1.2 μm wavelength range at 25°C. Absolute values of δ were obtained by comparing the fluorescence yield for two-photon excitation with that for single-photon excitation of the same ionic transition under identical illumination conditions. The maximum values of δ are 4.6×10⁻³ GM for o-polarisation and 5.9×10⁻³ GM for e-polarisation at 840 nm. The relevance of these measurements to distributed optical fibre sensing is briefly discussed.     

Acetylene-Substituted Two-Photon Absorbing Molecules With Rigid Elongated Pi-Conjugation: Synthesis,Spectroscopic Properties and Two-Photon Fluorescence Cell Imaging Applications

Two asymmetrical molecules with substituted acetylene as central rigid elongated conjugation are reported as potential chromophores for two-photon microscopic imaging. These molecules consist of a typical D–π–A structure, have different donors (D), the same π-conjugated center (π) and the same acceptor (A). Structural characterization and spectroscopic properties, including single-photon (linear) absorption, quantum yields, single-photon fluorescence, and two-photon absorption spectra, were studied in solvents with different polarity. These acetylene-substituted molecules were found to have high two-photon absorption cross-sections (for example, 690 GM for molecule 1 in toluene), which were determined by a two-photon induced fluorescence method using a femtosecond Ti: sapphire laser as excitation source. Single- and two-photon cellular imaging experiments demonstrate that the substituted acetylene derivatives could be one kind of promising two-photon fluorescence probes for cellular imaging.     

Two photon absorption and coherent control with broadband down-converted light

We experimentally demonstrate two-photon absorption with broadband down-converted light (squeezed vacuum). Although incoherent and exhibiting the statistics of a thermal noise, broadband down-converted light can induce two-photon absorption with the same sharp temporal behavior as femtosecond pulses, while exhibiting the high spectral resolution of the narrow band pump laser. Using pulse-shaping methods, we coherently control two-photon absorption in rubidium, demonstrating spectral and temporal resolutions that are 3-5 orders of magnitude below the actual bandwidth and temporal duration of the light itself. Such properties can be exploited in various applications such as spread-spectrum optical communications, tomography, and nonlinear microscopy.     

Fluorescence intensity and anisotropy decays of the DNA stain Hoechst 33342 resulting from one-photon and two-photon excitation

We examined the steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence spectral properties of the DNA stain Hoechst 33342 for one-photon (OPE) and two-photon (TPE) excitation. Hoechst 33342 was found to display a large cross section for two-photon excitation within the fundamental wavelength range of pyridine 2 and rhodamine 6G dye lasers, 690 to 770 and 560 to 630 nm, respectively. The time-resolved measurements show that intensity decays are similar for OPE- and TPE. The anisotropy decay measurements of Hoechst 33342 in ethanol revealed the same correlation times for TPE as observed for OPE. However, the zero-time anisotropies recovered from anisotropy decay measurements are 1.4-fold higher for TPE than for OPE. The anisotropy spectra of Hoechst 33342 were examined in glycerol at ?20°C, revealing limiting values close to the theoretical limits for OPE (0.4) and TPE (0.57). The steady-state anisotropy for OPE decreases in the shorter-wavelength region (R6G dye laser, 280–315 nm), but the two-photon anisotropy for 560 to 630-nm excitation remains as high as in the long-wavelength region (690–770 nm). This result suggests that one-photon absorption is due to two electronic, but only one transition contributes to the two-photon absorption over the wavelength range from 580 to 770 nm. Our demonstration of these favorable two-photon properties for Hoechst 33342, and the high photostability of the dye reported by other laboratories, suggests that this dye will be valuable for time-resolved studies of DNA with TPE and for two-photon fluorescence microscopy.     

Electrochemical,thermal,and photophysical properties of novel two-photon absorption chromophores

Electrochemical, thermal, and photophysical properties of novel two- （BPODPA）, four- （BBPOPA）, and six-branch （TBPOA） triphenylamine chromophores are studied. The decomposition temperature of chro- mophores reaches 373 - 412 ℃. The electrochemical properties is explored by cyclic voltammetry. The ionization potential of chromophores is in the range of 5.14 - 5.18 eV. Excitation at 400 nm reveals emission peaks at 483 - 487 nm and the fluorescence quantum yields are 0.73 - 0.75 in CH2Cl2. Two-photon absorption （TPA） properties of chromophores are measured by nonlinear transmission method. The maximum TPA cross-section values are measured at 758 nm to be 20369 GM （1 GM=10^-50 cm^4 -s/photon） for TBPOA, 7024 GM for BBPOPA, and 1227 GM for BPODPA, respectively. When pumped with 800-nm laser irradiation, chromophores show strong two-photon excited blue-green fluorescence at 502 - 518 nm. These results provide a basis for understanding the electronic and optical properties of the conjugated multi-branch chromoohore in terms of the underlying molecular and electronic structures.     

Efficient two-photon absorption of CdSe-CdS/ZnS core-multishell quantum dots under the excitation of near-infrared femtosecond pulsed laser

We report that two-photon absorption (TPA) properties of semiconductor CdSe-core CdS/ZnS-multishell quantum dots (QDs) in toluene under excitation of femtosecond laser at 800 nm. The results show efficient TPA process and large TPA cross section of three types of size QDs, which is 1900, 5710, and 16060 GM (1 GM = 10⁻⁵⁰ cm⁴ s photon⁻¹), respectively. TPA cross section dramatically increases with increased core size, showing a strong size-dependence effect. Furthermore, two-photon excitation (TPE) fluorescence intensity not only depends on TPA capacity, but also relies on improved quantum yield resulting from passivation of QD surface by different coated monolayers (MLs). These facts in combination with the narrow fluorescence bandwidth make these QDs as promising probes for multicolor two-photon microscopy.