Thermally induced nonlinear optical response and optical power limiting of acid blue 40 dye

We report the investigations of thermally induced third-order nonlinear optical and optical limiting characterizations for various concentrations of acid blue 40 dye in N,N-Dimethyl Formamide, studied by employing z-scan technique under cw He–Ne laser irradiation at 633 nm wavelength. The samples exhibited nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction under the experimental conditions. For lower concentration, the samples display both saturable absorption (SA) and reverse saturable absorption (RSA); whereas with increase in concentration, RSA behaviour prevails. The estimated values of the effective coefficients of nonlinear absorption β_eff, nonlinear refraction n₂ and third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ were found to be of the order of 10^?2 cm/W, 10^?4 esu and 10^?6 esu respectively. Multiple diffraction rings were observed when the samples were exposed to laser beam due to refractive index change and thermal lensing. The effect of concentration and the laser intensity on the self-diffraction ring patterns was studied experimentally. The acid blue 40 dye also exhibited strong optical limiting properties under cw excitation and reverse saturable absorption is found to be the dominant nonlinear optical process leading to the observed nonlinear behaviour.     

碳纳米管悬浮液的光限幅特性实验研究

 通过超声波降解法制备了多壁碳纳米管的水-表面活性剂悬浮液,测量了其对于1 064 nm,脉宽10 ns Nd:YAG调Q脉冲激光的光限幅曲线。实验发现：入射激光能量密度较低时,出射能量密度随入射能量密度的增加而线性增加;当入射能量密度为160 mJ/cm²时,出射能量不再线性增加并且逐渐趋近于光限幅器的嵌位输出值,约16 mJ,同时,对激光的透过率从71%下降到15%。通过Z扫描和探针光实验以及45°散射角下散射能量、散射率随入射激光能量变化曲线的测量,对碳纳米管悬浮液的光限幅机理进行了研究。结果表明：其限幅机理可能源于碳纳米管吸收激光能量后升华产生的膨胀的碳气泡对入射激光产生的非线性散射;另外,非线性折射对光限幅效果也有一定的作用。     

The importance of solvent properties for optical limiting of carbon nanotube dispersions

The optical limiting performances of single-walled carbon nanotube dispersions in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone were enhanced significantly by blending a range of organic solvents or by increasing the temperature of the dispersions up to 100 °C. While both nanotube bundle size and various solvent parameters have an influence on the optical limiting responses, we verified experimentally that the surface tension of the solvent plays a more important role than the viscosity or boiling point; the appropriate solvent properties contribute to the nonlinear scattering dominated optical limiting phenomenon more than the bundle size.     

Role of host liquid in optical limiting in ink suspensions

Optical limiting of 532 nm, 15 ns duration laser pulses in suspensions made by diluting black ink in water, ethanol, and isopropanol was studied and the strength of limiting was found to be quite different for the three suspensions. Microscopic investigations showed that the sizes of suspended aggregates were different for different host liquids. The suspension with largest aggregate was found to exhibit strongest optical limiting. Our work thus shows that host liquid influences optical limiting in suspensions not only through its thermodynamic properties but also by determining the particle size which has a strong effect on limiting strength.     

Investigation of third-order nonlinear optical properties of conjugated benzodioxal derivatives

An investigation of third-order nonlinear optical characterization of newly synthesized conjugated benzodioxal derivatives has been done by using nanosecond Z-scan technique at 532 nm. The molecules demonstrate self-defocusing effect with intensity dependent refractive index (n₂) of the order of 10⁻¹⁴ cm²/W. The measured molecular TPA cross-section is ranging from 2.47 ×10⁻⁴⁷ cm⁴ s/photon to 6.00 cm⁴ s/photon. Their input-output curves indicate that there is a clear optical power limiting behavior with the limiting threshold in the range 125-181 μJ. The main factor to exhibit the observed nonlinearity in these molecules is the presence of charge donor and acceptor groups. The increased conjugation length increases the nonlinear refraction and increased electron density enhances the nonlinear absorption. The molecules exhibit good nonlinear optical properties, comparable to those of regular azoaromatic compounds. Therefore, the molecules investigated here are promising candidates for optical power limiting devices.     

Trimeric metallo-phthalocyanines with good performances for nanosecond optical limiting in solution

Optical limiting (OL) performances of two trimeric metallo-phthalocyanines namely, 2,4,6-tris[2-oxa-9,10,16,17,23,24-hexa(hexylthio) phthalocyaninato M(II)]-s-triazine (M = Zn for compound ZnPc and Cu for compound CuPc) were investigated by using the Z-scan technique. The measurements were performed using collimated 4 ns pulses generated from a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm wavelength. OL parameters of the ratio of the excited state to ground state absorption cross-sections κ, the effective non-linear absorption coefficient β_eff, the linear absorption coefficient α₀, limiting threshold F_th and the saturation density or energy density F_sat values were determined for the investigated compounds. The results indicated that both compounds exhibited good OL performances. ZnPc shows slightly better OL parameters than that of CuPc.     

基于SBS光限幅和金属酞菁光限幅相结合的复合型光限幅器的研究

为了使受激布里渊散射(SBS)光限幅器的输出能量更"平",提出了一种基于SBS光限幅和金属酞菁光限幅相结合的复合型光限幅器的方案,即SBS光限幅后边放置金属酞菁光限幅,在两种光限幅器的共同限幅作用下,使复合型光限幅器的输出光能量更"平". 数值模拟了该复合型光限幅器的输出光能量随入射光强度的变化曲线,并在Countinuum's Nd: YAG种子注入式激光器中进行了实验验证. 理论和实验结果均表明,复合型光限幅器的输出光能量比单独SBS光限幅器更"平". 关键词： 复合型光限幅器 SBS光限幅 金属酞菁限幅     

重频激光对多壁碳纳米管悬浮液光限幅特性的影响研究

在激光以不同重复频率入射下,研究了直径分布为10～20 nm的多壁碳纳米管悬浮液对波长为1064 nm激光的光限幅效应,定性分析了不同重复频率激光对多壁碳纳米管悬浮液的光限幅影响。结果表明:碳纳米管悬浮液对波长为532 nm和1064 nm的激光都具有很强的光限幅响应;在多脉冲激光入射时,碳纳米管悬浮液的光限幅效应比单脉冲激光入射时更显著。     

Z-scan studies and optical limiting of nanosecond laser pulses in neutral red dye

The nonlinear optical absorption, refraction and optical limiting behaviour of an organic dye, neutral red, were investigated under excitation with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The nonlinear optical responses of the material were studied both in solution and solid film, made in methanol and polyvinyl alcohol, respectively, using single-beam Z-scan technique. The open aperture Z-scans of the solution samples displayed a switch over from saturable absorption to enhanced absorption with increase in input intensity. Theoretical fit to the experimental data indicated that the dominant mechanism of nonlinear absorption is two-photon absorption. The closed aperture Z-scans of both the samples denoted positive nonlinearity, which was three orders larger in magnitude in solid film, compared with that in solution. The results of optical limiting experiments revealed that neutral red exhibited strong optical limiting of nanosecond laser pulses with a threshold lower than that of C₆₀ in toluene.     

Optical limiting properties of CdS nanowires

Intensity-dependent nonlinear optical transmission studies of cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanowires (∼ 50-100 nm diameter) suspended in dimethylformamide have been carried out in the visible region using the Z-scan technique with 7 ns pulses from the second harmonic of an Nd:YAG laser. The optical limiting threshold of CdS nanowires suspension was determined to be 1.3 J cm^− 2, with normalized transmittance of 0.47, which is relatively lower when compared with those of many popular metal nanowire suspensions reported in the literature. Based on an effective three-photon absorption model, nonlinear absorption and nonlinear scattering were identified as the dominant processes for the measured reduced transmittance.     

Investigation of the nonlinear absorption and optical limiting properties of two [Q]2[Cu(C3S5)2] compounds

The nonlinear absorption properties of two organometallic compounds, [(C₂H₅)₄N]₂[Cu(C₃S₅)₂] (DCu1) and [(C₄H₉)₄N]₂[Cu(C₃S₅)₂] (DCu2), have been investigated using an open-aperture Z-scan technique at 1064 nm with 40 ps pulse width and at 1053 nm with 18 ns pulse width. The reverse saturable absorption (RSA) which was observed in both samples with nanosecond pulse excitation was much larger than that observed with picosecond pulse excitation. The nonlinear absorption properties were analyzed theoretically by a five-level model. Optical limiting based on RSA was performed and limiting thresholds were evaluated for both samples under three conditions. DCu1 exhibited the better limiting characteristics because of its stronger RSA response.     

新型金属团簇化合物的光限幅特性研究

应用倍频 Nd:YAG脉冲激光 ,在波长为 5 32 nm、脉冲宽度为 8ns的条件下 ,研究了金属团簇化合物WOS3Cu3I(2 - Me Py) 3的光限幅特性。其光限福特性优于富勒烯。Z- Scan研究结果表明 :该团簇具有自聚焦特性 ,其光限幅起源于激发态吸收     

Tailoring optical properties of TiO_2 in silica glass for limiting applications

We present the linear and nonlinear optical studies on TiO2-SiO2 nanocomposites with varying compositions. Opti- cal band gap of the material is found to vary with the amount of SiO2 in the composite. The phenomenon of two-photon absorption （TPA） in TiO2/SiO2 nanocomposites has been studied using open aperture Z-scan technique. The nanocom- posites show better nonlinear optical properties than pure TiO2, which can be attributed to the surface states and weak dielectric confinement of TiO2 nanoparticles by SiO2 matrix. The nanocomposites are thermally treated and similar studies are performed. The anatase form of TiO2 in the nanocomposites shows superior properties relative to the amorphous and rutile counterpart. The involved mechanism is explained by rendering the dominant role played by the excitons in the TiO2 nanoparticles.     

碳纳米管悬浮液的光限幅特性实验研究

通过超声波降解法制备了多壁碳纳米管的水-表面活性剂悬浮液,测量了其对于1 064 nm,脉宽10 ns Nd:YAG调Q脉冲激光的光限幅曲线。实验发现：入射激光能量密度较低时,出射能量密度随入射能量密度的增加而线性增加;当入射能量密度为160 mJ/cm2时,出射能量不再线性增加并且逐渐趋近于光限幅器的嵌位输出值,约16 mJ,同时,对激光的透过率从71%下降到15%。通过Z扫描和探针光实验以及45°散射角下散射能量、散射率随入射激光能量变化曲线的测量,对碳纳米管悬浮液的光限幅机理进行了研究。结果表明：其限幅机理可能源于碳纳米管吸收激光能量后升华产生的膨胀的碳气泡对入射激光产生的非线性散射;另外,非线性折射对光限幅效果也有一定的作用。     

Optical limiting properties of zinc phthalocyanines in solution and solid PMMA composite films

The nonlinear absorption and optical limiting (OL) performance of tetra- and octasubstituted zinc phthalocyanine complexes were described in solution and in the solid state using the open-aperture Z-scan technique. The measurements were performed using collimated 4 ns pulses generated from a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm wavelength. The polymeric films exhibit a much larger effective nonlinear absorption coefficient in comparison with solution. However, the parameters of the ratio of the excited to ground state absorption cross section and energy-dependent saturation in solution are much better compared to properties in the polymeric film. In terms of the ratio of the excited to ground state absorption cross section, the peripherally substituted complexes show better OL performance than the non-peripherally substituted derivative.     

Z-scan measurements of optical nonlinearity in acid blue 29 dye

The third order nonlinear optical properties of acid blue 29 solutions have been studied using Z-scan technique. Experiments are performed using a CW He–Ne laser at 632.8 nm wavelength and 3 mW power. The linear absorption coefficient α₀, nonlinear absorption coefficient β, nonlinear refractive index n₂, Re χ³, and Im χ³ are measured at three different concentrations. Our results show that higher concentration gives better nonlinear optical properties. Also, it was found that there is an increasing trend in the value of the nonlinear refractive index n₂ as the concentration increases.     

Rapid synthesize of gold nanoparticles by microwave irradiation method and its application as an optical limiting material

We present rapid synthesis of gold nanoparticles by microwave irradiation method. Sample with average particle size 7.7 nm is obtained from TEM. Linear and nonlinear optical studies of the prepared samples are discussed. Reverse saturable absorption (RSA) at longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have been observed using Z-scan and transient absorption techniques with 532 nm laser pulses. Such RSA behavior makes Au NPs an ideal candidate for optical limiting applications.     

Photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of zincphthalocyanines with peripheral substitutions

Photophysical and nonlinear optical properties of zinc phthalocyanines (ZnPc) bearing peripheral phenoxy substituents containing different functionalized groups were studied. Fluorescence spectra corresponding to the optical transition S₁ → S₀ are found to be appeared at 684 or 686.4 nm. Z-scan technique reveals large nonlinearities, where the absorptive and refractive effects are separately evaluated. Saturation absorption of ZnPc-1 was observed at 632.8 nm, with a very large nonlinear absorption coefficient β = −1.36 × 10⁻² cm/W. However a strong nonlinear refractive effect was found in all ZnPcs (1-4). Transmitted versus incident irradiance measurements carried out on ZnPc-1 and ZnPc-2, showed a very clear optical limiting behavior with irradiance thresholds around be 44 W/cm² and 90 W/cm² respectively.     

Low-threshold optical power limiting of cw laser illumination based on nonlinear refraction in zinc tetraphenyl porphyrin

The increasing use of low power cw lasers in various applications calls for the design of optical limiters with low thresholds. To this end, the optical nonlinearity exhibited by zinc tetraphenyl porphyrin at low laser powers is utilized to design an optical limiter for low threshold operation. The basic parameter responsible for limiting action, the nonlinear refractive index of the medium, is measured using the Z-scan technique and found to have a value of at the helium–neon laser wavelength of 632.8 nm. The origin of nonlinearity is explained on the basis of the thermal lens model. It is shown that effective optical limiting at desired threshold values can be achieved by the optimal choice of aperture size and experimental geometry.