Size-dependent nonlinear optical properties and thermal lens in silver nanoparticles

We have investigated the nonlinear response of the silver nanoparticle samples in a low-power regime of electromagnetic field based on nonlocal thermo-optic models. In this work, the experimental investigation of the thermo-optic nonlinear response of Ag colloids containing different size of silver nanoparticles is reported. The colloidal nanoparticle samples were synthesized by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation of Ag bulk in acetone. The sample containing Ag was characterized by linear absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Using the z-scan technique, the behavior of thermal nonlinear refractive index of colloid was studied at different concentrations of silver nanoparticles. Observation of asymmetrical configurations of the z-scan data indicates that nonlinear refraction occurring in the Ag samples is related to the thermo-optical process. The optical limiting here is due to nonlinear refraction of the samples arising from thermal lens formation under low-power CW excitation. When the laser power is low, the self-defocusing effect is mainly dominated by surface plasmon resonance effect. Results show that with increasing concentration of nanoparticles in acetone, the nonlinear refractive index increases while the threshold power of optical limiting decreases.     

Thermal-induced nonlinear optical characteristics of ethanol solution doped with silver nanoparticles

The investigation of nonlinear optical characteristics of ethanol solution doped with is presented. A large thermal-induced third-order nonlinear refractive index up to silver nanoparticles 1.941× 10^-7 cm2/W is obtained from the mixed solution under 488-nm continue wave （CW） laser irradiation, which may result from surface plasmon resonance （SPR） enhancement effect of silver nanoparticles as well as high thermo-optic coefficient and low thermal conductivity of ethanol. Obvious spatial self-phase modulation and influence of thermal-induced negative lens effect are observed when a beam propagates through this solution, indicating promising applications such as optical limiting, beam flattening, and so on.     

Thermal nonlinear refraction properties of Ag2S semiconductor nanocrystals with its application as a low power optical limiter

In this work, nonlinear refraction properties of 3 nm sized silver sulfide (Ag₂S) semiconductor nanocrystals dispersed in the dimethyl sulfoxide with varying concentrations are reported. Observation of the colloids far-field diffraction ring patterns indicates of large induced thermal nonlinear refraction in the medium. The thermally induced effective nonlinear refractive index due to nonlocal heat effect is characterized by Z-scan technique with a low power CW laser irradiation at 532 nm. This allows us to measure thermo-optic coefficient and effective nonlinear refractive index up to −1.52 × 10⁻⁷ cm²/W in the tested samples. Low power optical limiting, with low limiting thresholds is obtained in the samples based on thermal defocusing and self diffraction. The limiting thresholds of colloids at different Ag₂S nanocrystals concentrations are also reported.     

Investigation of the optical limiting properties of acid blue29 in various solvents

The optical limiting properties of acid blue29 solutions in different solvents are investigated. Experiments are performed using a CW He-Ne Laser beam at 632.8 nm wavelength and 35 mW power. The strength of the optical limiting action is dramatically influenced by the solvent. Multiple diffraction rings were observed when the samples were exposed to laser radiation. The effect of concentration, solvent and laser intensity on the diffraction rings are studied experimentally. Our results show that the nonlinear refraction is the dominant mechanism to explain the optical limiting behavior in acid blue29.     

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.     

Effect of thickness on the optical nonlinearity of gold colloidal nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation

The effect of thickness on the nonlinear optical properties of Au nanoparticles which produced by laser ablation of high purity gold bulk in distilled water were investigated by employing different optical techniques. Experiments were performed on the 0.3, 0.6, and 1 mm thickness cells of Au nanoparticles-fluid. The effect of nonlinear refractive index of samples on the laser beam broadening was observed. The optical limiting behavior of samples is investigated by measuring the transmitted intensity of the laser beam through the samples. The third order nonlinearity of Au nanoparticles-fluid was measured by using Z-scan data. Results show a positive second order refractive index and absorption coefficient for Au nanoparticles-fluid that are increased in due of increasing the thickness of the cells. The magnitudes of both real and imaginary parts of third order susceptibility of samples are increased by increasing the thickness.     

可溶性碳纳米管光限幅特性的实验研究

利用实验的方法研究了可溶性碳纳米管对波长为1064和532nm激光的光限幅效应.分析了在 不同的样品浓度、不同的样品厚度情况下可溶性碳纳米管的光限幅特性，并对溶剂也进行了 光限幅实验.实验结果表明，在各种情况下可溶性碳纳米管对1064和532nm激光具有较强的 光限幅特性. 关键词： 可溶性碳纳米管 光限幅效应 强激光防护     

Nonlinear responses and optical limiting behavior of Basic Violet 16 dye under CW laser illumination

Nonlinear optical properties of Basic Violet 16 dye solution in water are studied employing different optical techniques. Experiments are performed using the second harmonic of a continuous Nd-Yag laser beam at 532 nm wavelength and 100 mW power. The effect of nonlinearity of Basic Violet 16 dye in broadening the laser beam is observed. The optical limiting behavior is investigated by measuring the transmission of the samples. The third-order nonlinearity, χ³ of Basic Violet 16 dye, is measured using Z-scan data. The nonlinear absorption coefficient is calculated using the open aperture Z-scan data, while its nonlinear refractive index is measured using the closed aperture Z-scan data. All experiments are done for different concentrations and thicknesses of Basic Violet 16 dye solution. The effect of intensity of input laser beam on the nonlinear susceptibility is studied experimentally. Results indicate that Basic Violet 16 dye is a potential candidate for low-power optical limiting applications.     

Measurement of nonlinear properties and optical limiting ability of Rhodamine6G doped silica and polymeric samples

The third order nonlinear optical properties of Rhodamine6G (Rh6G) doped silica and polymeric samples have been investigated using single beam z-scan technique under excitation by the second harmonic of Nd:YAG laser beam (532 nm). The nonlinear refractive index, nonlinear absorption coefficient, real and imaginary parts of third order nonlinear susceptibility in the samples of silica and poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrices are measured. Thermal contribution to the nonlinear refractive index in case of undoped silica samples has been calculated in order to have better accuracy of the material response contribution to third order nonlinearity. The comparative study of the optical limiting performance of Rh6G doped silica and polymeric samples show that Rh6G doped silica is relatively superior for optical limiting applications.     

Optical Properties of Ag and Au Nanoparticles Dispersed within the Pores of Monolithic Mesoporous Silica

The optical absorption of silver and gold nanoparticles dispersed within the pores of monolithic mesoporous silica upon annealing at elevated temperatures has been investigated. With decreasing particle size, the surface plasmon resonance position of the particles blue-shifts first and then red-shifts for silver/silica samples, but only red-shifts for gold/silica samples. This size evolution of the resonance position is completely different from that previously reported for fully embedded particles. We assume a local porosity at the particle/matrix interface, such that free surface of particles within the pores may be in contact with ambient air, and present a two-layer core/shell model to calculate the optical properties. These calculations also consider deviations from the optical constants of bulk matter to account for corresponding effects below about 10 nm particle size. From the good agreement between experimental results and model calculations, we conclude a peculiar particle/ambience interaction dominating the size evolution of the resonance. Because of the difference of core electron structure, the relative importance of the effects of local porosity and free surface, respectively, are different for silver and gold. For silver, the effect of the local porosity is stronger, but for gold the opposite is found.     

Diffraction patterns and nonlinear optical properties of gold nanoparticles

Stable gold nanoparticles have been prepared by using soluble starch as both the reducing and stabilizing agents; this reaction was carried out at 40 °C for 5 h. The obtained gold nanoparticles were characterized by UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and z-scan technique. The size of these nanoparticles was found to be in the range of 12–22 nm as analyzed using transmission electron micrographs. The optical properties of gold nanoparticles have been measured showing the surface plasmon resonance. The second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were investigated by using a continuous-wave (CW) He–Ne laser beam with a wavelength of 632.8 nm at three different incident intensities by means of single beam techniques. The nonlinear refractive indices of gold nanoparticles were obtained from close aperture z-scan in order of 10^?7 cm²/W. Then, they were compared with diffraction patterns observed in far-field. The nonlinear absorption of these nanoparticles was obtained from open aperture z-scan technique. The values of nonlinear absorption coefficient are obtained in order of 10^?1 cm/W.     

Crystal growth, thermal and optical studies of nonlinear optical material: Glycine potassium sulphate

A new nonlinear optical material glycine potassium sulphate (GPS) has been synthesized and optical quality crystals were grown from aqueous solution. This material has positive temperature coefficient revealed from the solubility studies. The grown crystals were characterized by employing several techniques such as single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, thermo gravimetric analysis, FTIR and UV-vis-NIR spectra. The etching studies have been done on the (1 0 0) plane of the grown crystal. Preliminary measurements to find second harmonic generation efficiency of GPS has been carried out.     

Enhancement of nonlinear optical properties of compounds of silica glass and metallic nanoparticle

The aim of this paper is to introduce a method for enhancing the nonlinear optical properties in silica glass by using metallic nanoparticles. First, the T-matrix method is developed to calculate the effective dielectric constant for the compound of silica glass and metallic nanoparticles, both of which possess nonlinear dielectric constants. In the second step, the Maxwell–Garnett theory is exploited to replace the spherical nanoparticles with cylindrical and ellipsoidal ones, facilitating the calculation of the third-order nonlinear effective susceptibility for a degenerate four-wave mixing case. The results are followed by numerical computations for silver, copper and gold nanoparticles. It is shown, graphically, that the maximum and minimum of the real part of the reflection coefficient for nanoparticles of silver occurs in smaller wavelengths compared to that of copper and gold. Further, it is found that spherical nanoparticles exhibit greater figure-of-merit compared to those with cylindrical or ellipsoidal geometries.     

Structural and optical properties of single and bilayer silver and gold films

Physics of the Solid State - An experimental study of structural and optical properties of silver and gold thin films, as well as bilayer films based on these metals, has been carried out. To study...     

Investigation of the nonlinear optical characteristics of composite materials based on sapphire with silver, copper, and gold nanoparticles by the reflection Z-scan method

The nonlinear optical characteristics of silver, copper, and gold nanoparticles synthesized in a sapphire matrix by ion implantation are studied. The measurements are performed by the RZ-scan method with optical reflection at the radiation wavelength of a picosecond Nd:YAG laser (λ = 1064 nm). The nonlinear refractive indices and the real parts of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility of the composites are determined. It is shown that the nonlinear refraction in the samples is caused by the Kerr effect.     

Study on the optical limiting properties of the mixed liquid of carbon black suspensions and green tea solution by multi-pulse laser

The optical limiting properties of the mixed liquid of carbon black suspensions (CBS) and green tea solution were studied by using an 8 ns laser pulse at 532\,nm. The optical limiting effects of the CBS and mixed liquid have been compared between 5 and 10\,Hz repetition frequencies with nanosecond laser pulse. The experimental results indicate that the optical limiting threshold of the sample with the incidence laser at 10\,Hz repetition frequency is lower than at 5\,Hz repetition frequency. The possible reasons for the influence of the repetition frequency on the samples are discussed. And by observing the optical radiant distributions when the laser pulse passing through different samples, a possible mechanism for the observed effects is suggested. At the same time, the result shows that the optical limiting of CBS is the dominant factor to optical limiting of the mixed liquid.     

Surface effect on the size evolution of surface plasmon resonances of Ag and Au nanoparticles dispersed within mesoporous silica

The optical absorption has been investigated for silver and gold nanoparticles dispersed within the pores of monolithic mesoporous silica after annealing at different temperatures. It has been shown that with reduction of the particle size, the surface plasmon resonance position blue-shifts first and then red-shifts for silver/silica samples, but only red-shifts for gold/silica samples. This size evolution of the resonance is completely different from that previously reported for fully embedded particles. Based on the interaction of the particle surface with ambient air and the porosity at the particle/matrix interface, we present a multi-layer core/shell model and assume that the chemical adsorption of gas molecules from the air on the free surface of nanoparticles within the pores is mainly responsible for the observed size evolution of the resonance.     

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.     

金催化的硅纳米线的可控制备及光学特性研究

硅纳米线是新型一维半导体纳米材料的典型代表。利用阳极氧化铝薄膜为模版复制出具有有序纳米结构的金膜,在金的催化辅助下对单晶硅进行湿法刻蚀,得到尺寸、形状、分布可控的硅纳米线阵列,并对其光学特性进行了研究。研究结果表明,金代替银作为催化剂,可以有效地抑制二次刻蚀,金的化学性质相对于银更加稳定,克服了银膜在较高的温度或较长刻蚀时间下产生的结构性破坏,得到形貌规整、尺寸可控的硅纳米线阵列。对该阵列在400 nm~1 200 nm波段的反射率、透过率进行了测试,并对比分析了金模板催化与传统方法机理的异同。测试结果表明,相较于传统金属辅助化学刻蚀法,文中提出的金模板催化法制备的硅纳米线阵列尺寸及分布更加均匀可控,在宽光谱范围内的抗反射性得到了显著提高。     

Transmission and spectral properties of short optical plasmon waveguides

We study the spectral and transmission properties of optical waveguides in the form of different chain configurations of spherical Ag nanoparticles that can be synthesized under conditions of selective deposition on a dielectric substrate from a nanocolloid.