Third order nonlinear optical properties of some organic nitroxyls

The degenerate four-wave mixing experiments have been performed in the dichloromethane solutions of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-pipridine-4-ol-N-oxyl p-hydroxybenzaldehyde oxime benzoic ester (TPOHBOBE) and bis-(TPOHBOBE) cobalt (II), respectively. The result is in agreement with the theoretical prediction of depending on the molecular chain length l as l ⁵. A large off-resonant third order hyperpolarizability _xxxx of 1.3 × 10^–30 esu for bis-(TPOHBOBE) cobalt (II) was obtained. The corresponding value of the third order nonlinear optical susceptibility ⁽³⁾ _xxxx for its solid state is estimated to be 7.8 × 10^–9 esu.     

Increasing absorption optical bistability operating in the front surface layer of high absorption samples

The increasing absorption optical bistability in a bulk ZnSe sample with quite high absorption has been observed. Our experiments show that the bistability operates only in the front surface layer of sample and that the back layer of sample can be regarded as a linear absorber and heat sink.     

Degenerate four-wave mixing experiments in Methyl green dye-doped gelatin film

Degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) was performed in Methyl green dye-doped gelatin films using continuous-wave laser radiation () generated by a He-Ne laser of total power 35 mW. Various parameters which influence the phase-conjugate (PC) signal during the DFWM process were studied. The PC signal contributions from induced holographic transmission and reflection gratings were measured. We observed a maximum PC beam reflectivity of 0.13% in these dye-doped gelatin films.     

Temporal behavior of two-wave-mixing in photorefractive InP:Fe versus temperature

The temporal response of two-wave-mixing in photorefractive InP:Fe under a dc electric field at different temperatures has been studied. In particular, the temperature dependence of the characteristic time constant has been studied both theoretically and experimentally, showing a strongly decreasing time constant with increasing temperature.     

Photorefractive mutually pumped phase conjugation with partially coherent beams

We investigate the mutually pumped phase-conjugation process in photorefractive media with partially coherent pump beams. We consider the effects of transmission, reflection, and 2k-reflection gratings as well as the depletion of both pump beams. The theoretical results can be employed to qualitatively explain the experimental observations.     

Tunable double-channel filter based on two-dimensional ferroelectric photonic crystals

A tunable double-channel filter is presented, which is based on a two-dimensional nonlinear ferroelectric photonic crystal made of cerium doped barium titanate. The filtering properties of the photonic crystal filter can be tuned by adjusting the defect structure or by a pump light. The influences of the structure disorders caused by the perturbations in the radius or the position of air holes on the filtering properties are also analyzed.     

Transformation of Sign of Nonlinear Refraction between Mo（W）/S/Cu Planar Metal Clusters

Optical nonlinear refractive properties of a series of Mo（W）/S/Cu planar square clusters are investigated using the Z-scan technique with the ns laser pulses at the wavelength of 532 nm. The result shows that the planar metal clusters containing the halogen ligands demonstrate the self-focusing effect, and the other planar metal dusters demonstrate the self-defocusing effect. These facts indicate that the halogen ligands can act as crucial factors in determining the sign of the nonlinear refraction of the Mo（W）/S/Cu planar metal clusters. The analysis of the experimental data shows that the planar clusters with halogen ligands possess greater refraction volume of the excited state than that of the ground state, while the other planar clusters possess the smaller refraction volume of the excited state than that of the ground state.     

Large third-order nonlinear optical properties of C70 fullerene in the infrared regime

The nonlinear third-order optical susceptibility of C₇₀ in a toluene solution is measured for the first time by the method of degenerate four-wave mixing using 10 ns laser pulses at 1.06 m. The third-order susceptibility X _in ⁽³⁾ is 5.6×10^–12 esu for a C₇₀ toluene solution at a concentration of 0.476 g/l. The correspondent magnitude of the hyperpolarizability ₁₁₁₁ of the C₇₀ molecule is 1.2×10^–30 esu which is in a good agreement with the prediction given by the model of a free electron in a spherical box.     

Electric-field enhancement of beam coupling in Sn2P2S6

The influence of an external field on photorefractive recording in Sn₂P₂S₆ (SPS) crystals is studied. A large gain factor of more then 15 cm^-1 is achieved for a grating spacing of 12 μm at λ=0.9 μm. For an applied field exceeding ±200 V/cm a switching of the beam coupling direction is detected, exhibiting a pronounced hysteresis. Received: 25 October 2000 / Revised version: 18 January 2001 / Published online: 21 March 2001     

Transmission behavior in a photorefractive polymer film

When a p-polarized beam propagates through a high-performance photorefractive polymer composite, poly dimethyl-4-(4^′-nitrophenylazo)benzene, its transmission behavior is influenced by three effects: the electroabsorption, the photorefractive coupling with the reflected beam from the rear surface, and the amplified scattering. From the measurements on the incidence angle dependence as well as the applied-electric-field dependence of the three effects, some conclusions are obtained. At a small incidence angle with a low applied electric field, both the amplified scattering and the electroabsorption are small whereas the coupling between the incident beam and the reflected beam plays a principal role. At a large incidence angle or with a high poling electric field, the transmission is influenced mainly by the amplified scattering and the electroabsorption. A poling electric field asymmetric loss to the amplification scattering is also observed. Received: 18 November 1998 / Revised version: 10 February 1999 / Published online: 12 April 1999     

High optical gain using counterpropagating beams in iron and terbium-doped photorefractive lithium niobate

Exceptionally high values of photorefractive gain coefficient of up to 100 cm^-1 have been observed in Fe-doped and Fe/Tb-doped crystals of photorefractive lithium niobate. It is believed that these are the highest observed coefficients of any crystalline photorefractive medium. Accurate measurements of gain coefficient have been possible for the first time by using a specially cut triangular crystal which allows the use of short interaction lengths and the complete elimination of surface reflections by having the beams incident at Brewster’s angle. Experimental results are consistent with a simple model of photorefractive beam coupling up until the onset of noise which is observed to deplete the pump for interaction lengths longer than 1 mm. Received: 28 September 1998 / Revised version: 8 January 1999 / Published online: 31 March 1999     

Simultaneous and sequential power transfer between coherent beams by photorefractive coupling

The power of several coherent laser beams can be transferred into a single diffraction-limited signal beam by photorefractive coupling. The efficiency of the power transfer is investigated experimentally in the case of two pump beams. Two different geometrical arrangements, one with overlapping (simultaneous) and the other with separate (sequential) pump beams are compared in a BaTiO₃:Ce crystal, with diffusion-driven photorefraction. We measured about the same power transfer efficiency in both arrangements for strong signal beams, but the efficiency was higher in the sequential arrangement for weak signals. A simple theoretical model of the power transfer process based on the standard linear two-wave-mixing theory is presented and the observed stationary beam-coupling behavior for different pump-to-signal intensity ratios is found to be in qualitative agreement with the theoretical predictions. Received: 10 November 1998 / Revised version: 22 December 1998 / Published online: 24 March 1999     

Nonlinearity of a response in photorefractive crystals with a square-wave applied field

The space-charge-field formation in a photorefractive crystal illuminated by a one-dimensional light pattern is studied when an alternating square-wave electric field is applied to the crystal. We derive the general nonlinear equation for the time-averaged distribution of the space-charge field and employ the simplified versions of this equation to analyze the space-charge-field formation in the case of a Gaussian beam and interference light pattern. The borders of the applicability of simplified equations and analytic expressions to describe a self-action of light beams and the large modulation effects under two-beam coupling are estimated from the numerical calculations. Received: 18 November 1998 / Revised version: 26 January 1999 / Published online: 12 April 1999     

Experimental determination of the electro-optic coefficients in Ba0.77Ca0.23TiO3

We propose an experimental method for the determination of the electro-optic coefficients of photorefractive crystals. Using anisotropic properties of the crystal and using the response of the crystal to different polarization states of the incident light, it is possible to determine the ratio between various electro-optic coefficients by measuring the gain in a two-wave mixing set-up. The accuracy of the measurements is estimated and the obtained electro-optic coefficients for a Ba_0.77Ca_0.23TiO₃ crystal show good agreement with corresponding values already known from the literature. Received: 24 January 2000 / Revised version: 23 May 2000 / Published online: 16 August 2000     

Molecular orientations and photorefractive effects in C60-doped liquid crystals with capillary-flow-induced alignment

Molecular orientations and photorefractive effects of C₆₀-doped nematic liquid crystals were investigated with layer-structured liquid crystal cells where a nematic phase was injected. Regardless of the surface treatments of the layers, liquid crystals injected with nematic phase showed a higher degree of director orientation and photorefractivity than those injected with an isotropic phase. The nematic alignment of liquid crystals in an untreated cell is generated by a capillary flow of liquid crystal during the nematic injection. However, it was observed that the grating formation was delayed a little longer with injection of nematic phase than with injection of isotropic phase. Received: 11 March 2002 / Revised version: 22 April 2002 / Published online: 12 July 2002     

Studies of impurity levels in Rh-doped and Ce-doped photorefractive BaTiO3

Impurity levels, light-induced and thermo-induced charge transfer processes in Rh-doped and Ce-doped photorefractive BaTiO₃ were studied. The thermal depths and optical transitions of these impurity levels in the crystals were determined by using such methods as light-induced absorption, thermo-induced absorption, and grating dark decay. The origins of these impurity levels were discussed. We demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, that thermo-induced absorption spectroscopy is a useful and complementary technique for investigating the impurity levels in photorefractive crystals. With this technique, the deep impurity level generated by Ce in BaTiO₃:Ce was revealed and identified. Received: 7 July 1999 / Revised version: 24 September 19999 / Published online: 2 February 2000     

Reflection-type photorefractive gratings in tin hypotiodiphosphate

Reflection photorefractive gratings recorded by nearly counterpropagating light waves in the near infrared are studied in tin hypothiodiphosphate. The ratios are established for certain electrooptic tensor components responsible for reflection grating recording, and the Debye screening length is evaluated. Reflection holograms of binary objects are recorded. Received: 26 June 2001 / Revised version: 3 September 2001 / Published online: 29 November 2001     

Photorefractive optical properties of volume phase gratings induced in sillenite crystals, when the grating vector lies on the (111) plane

We study the diffraction efficiency of volume phase gratings in Bi₁₂GeO₂₀, when the grating vector, lying on a (111) plane, is at an angle with respect to the crystallographic direction. An external bias field parallel to the direction is applied during recording, thus, the recording conditions depend on the grating vector orientation. The basic parameters determining the diffraction efficiency are the grating vector orientation, the rotatory power and the field-induced linear birefringence (primary and secondary). Analytic expressions for the diffraction efficiency have been obtained by taking into account all the above-mentioned parameters, provided that linearly polarized light is incident on the crystal. In this configuration, the influence of the secondary electro-optic effect (inverse piezoelectric and photoelastic effects) to the diffraction efficiency is actually stronger than the influence of the primary effect. Experimental results are given. Received: 3 January 2000 / Revised version: 6 June 2000 / Published online: 13 September 2000     

Different temperature dependences of photorefractive parameters of Ce-doped and Rh-doped BaTiO3

eff and the electro-optic coefficient r₃₃ in Ce-doped and Rh-doped BaTiO₃ were determined by two-beam coupling measurements. It was found that the effective trap density N_eff of BaTiO₃:Ce increases whereas that of BaTiO₃:Rh decreases with increasing temperature. The electro-optic coefficient r₃₃ of both crystals increases with temperature. The photorefractive response times were also measured and found to decrease with different rates as temperature increases in the two crystals. The results were discussed by using the two-centre model for BaTiO₃:Ce and three-charge-state model for BaTiO₃:Rh. We found that the different temperature dependence of N_eff in the two crystals was due to the fact that the deep- and shallow-trap levels in BaTiO₃:Ce are caused by different impurity centres whereas those in BaTiO₃:Rh are caused by different charge states of the same impurity centre. Received: 16 July 1998/Revised version: 26 October 1998     

Soliton switching in inhomogeneous nonlocal media

We address a simple way to achieve routing of optical spatial solitons via soliton interactions in the inhomogeneous nonlocal media. We reveal that the variation of the nonlocality disturbs the solitons pairs and splits them into two individual solitons which have the same escape angle but opposite deflection directions. In particular, the escape angle monotonically increases with the increase of the nonlocality variation rate. We demonstrate that the soliton pairs could form self-consistent waveguides that are able to controllably guide a weak signal by any output positions.