Effective two-photon absorption cross section of heteroaromatic quadrupolar dyes: dependence on measurement technique and laser pulse characteristics

The linear and nonlinear optical properties of the heteroaromatic push-pull-push two-photon absorbing dye N-methyl-2,5-bis[1-(N-methylpyrid-4-yl)ethen-2-yl]-pyrrole ditriflate (PEPEP) are reported. The determination of the two-photon absorption (TPA) cross-section spectrum has been performed with different techniques: femtosecond TPA-white light continuum probe experiments, two-photon-induced fluorescence, and open aperture Z-scan measurements using both nanosecond and femtosecond laser pulses. The measured TPA cross sections and their wavelength dispersion show a marked dependence on the parameters of the laser pulses and on the measurement technique employed. These properties are discussed in terms of the different microscopic mechanisms that can contribute to the multiphoton absorption processes, with different weight depending on the measurement conditions and on the photophysical parameters of the dye.