Optical Characterization of rf-Magnetron Sputtered Nanostructured SnO2 Thin Films

Tin oxide （Sn02 ） thin films are deposited by rf-magnetron sputtering and annealed at various temperatures in the range of 100-500 ℃ for 15 min. Raman spectra of the annealed films depict the formation of a small amount of SnO phase in the tetragonal Sn02 matrix, which is verified by x-ray diffraction. The average particle size is found to be about 20-30 nm, as calculated from x-ray peak broadening and SEM images. Various optical parameters such as optical band gap energy, refractive index, optical conductivity, carrier mobility, carrier concentration etc. are determined from the optical transmittance and reflectance data recorded in the wavelength range 250-2500 nm. The results are analyzed and compared with the data in the literature.     

Influence of Annealing Temperature on Structure, Optical Loss and Laser-Induced Damage Threshold of TiO2 Thin Films

TiO2 thin films are prepared on fused silica with conventional electron beam evaporation deposition. After annealed at different temperatures for 4h, the spectra and XRD patterns of the TiO2 thin film are obtained. Weak absorption of coatings is measured by the surface thermal lensing technique, and laser-induced damage threshold （LIDT） is determined. It is found that with the increasing annealing temperature, the transmittance of TiO2 films decreases. Especially when coatings are annealed at high temperature over 1173K, the optical loss is very serious. Weak absorption detection indicates that the absorption of coatings decreases firstly and then increases, and the absorption and defects play major roles in the LIDT of TiO2 thin films.     

Large and Ultrafast Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties of Ge-S Based Chalcogenide Glasses

We report ultrafast third-order nonlinear optical （NLO） properties of several chalcogenide glasses GeSx （x = 1.8, 2.0, 2.5） measured by femtosecond time-resolved optical Kerr gate technique at 82Ohm. The third-order nonlinear susceptibility of GeS1.8 glass is determined to be as large as 1.41 ×10^-12 esu, which is the maximum value of the third order nonlinear susceptibility Х^（3） for the three compositions investigated. The symmetric Gauss profiles of optical Kerr signals reveal the nature of ultrafast nonlinear response of these samples, which are originated from the ultrafast polarization of the electron clouds. By detailed microstructural analysis of these glasses based on the chain-crossing model （CCM） and the random-covalent-network model （RCNM）, it can be concluded that Х^（3） value of GeSx glasses can be enhanced greatly by S-S covalent bonds or S3 Ge-GeS3 ethane-l＆e units.     

A Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Study of TiO2 Thin Films Prepared by dc Reactive Magnetron Sputtering： Annealing Temperature Effect

TiO2 thin films are obtained by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. A target of titanium （99.995%） and a mixture of argon and oxygen gases are used to deposit TiO2 films on to silicon wafers （100）. The crystalline structure of deposited and annealed film are deduced by variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry （VASE） and supported by x-ray diffractometry. The optical properties of the films are examined by VASE. Measurements of ellipsometry are performed in the spectral range O. 72-3.55 e V at incident angle 75^o. Several SE models, categorized by physical and optical models, are proposed based on the ＇simpler better＇ rule and curve-fits, which are generated and compared to the experimental data using the regression analysis. It has been found that the triple-layer physical model together with the Cody-Lorentz dispersion model offer the most convincing result. The as-deposited films are found to be inhomogeneous and amorphous, whereas the annealed films present the phase transition to anatase and rutile structures. The refractive index of TiO2 thin films increases with annealing temperature. A more detailed analysis further reveals that thickness of the top sub-layer increases, whereas the region of the bottom amorphous sub-layer shrinks when the films are annealed at 300℃.     

Annealing Induced Aggregations and Sign Alterations of Nonlinear Absorption and Refraction of Dense Au Nanoparticles in TiO2 Films

Au-TiO2 dis-conductive composite films with Au atom concentrate as high as 82% are prepared by using reactive co-sputtering technique. The annealing effect on the nanostructures and optical nonlinearities of the composite films are investigated. A u nanoparticles aggregated to semi-continuum network structures during the annealing processes. As the annealing temperature increases from 25℃ to 400℃, the surface plasmon absorption band is shifted and its strength is increased, consequently, the nonlinear absorption coefficient β decreases from 5.6 × 10^4 cm/GW to -1.7 × 10^4 cm/GW, while the nonlinear refractive index ~ increases from -0.95 cm^2/GW to 1.3 cm^2/GW.     

Femtosecond Third-Order Optical Nonlinearity of Au：Bi203 Nanocomposite Films

Ultrafast third-order optical nonlinearities of the as-deposited and annealed Au：Bi2O3 nanocomposite films deposited by magnetron cosputtering are investigated by using femtosecond time-resolved optical Kerr effect （OKE） and pump probe techniques. The third-order optical nonlinear susceptibility is estimated to be 2.6Ф×10^- 10 esu and 1.8 × 10.9 esu at wavelength of 800nm, for the as-deposited and the annealed film, respectively. The OKE signal of the as-deposited film is nearly temporally symmetrical with a peak centred at zero delay time, which indicates the dominant contribution from intraband transition of conduction electrons. For the annealed film, the existence of a decay process in OKE signal implies the important contribution of hot electrons. These characteristics are in agreement with the hot electron dynamics observed in pump probe measurement.     

Optical Nonlinear Properties of CdSeS/ZnS Core/Shell Quantum Dots

The optical nonlinear properties of CdSeS/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) areinvestigated by Z-scan technique using fundamental harmonic generation(1064nm) of mode-locked Nd:YAG laser for the first time. The experimental results show that two photon absorptions (TPA) occur at input intensity up to 12.5GW/cm². CdSeS/ZnS QDs have an average TPA cross section of 13710GM and large nonlinear refractive index on order of 10^-7esu. The large optical nonlinearities perhaps allow the CdSeS/ZnS QDs to be one kind of candidate material for bioimaging and fluorescence label, optical limiting and all-optical switching.     

Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties of a Series of Polythiophenes

The third-order nonlinear optical properties of a series of polythiophenes are investigated with the Z-scan method under picosecond pulse laser irradiation at 532nm. The copolymers exhibit a good nonlinear response： large nonlinear refraction coefficients without nonlinear absorption. The signs of nonlinear refraction coefficients are positive, which are opposite to the negative signs of the polythiophene reported before. The mechanism accounting for the process of nonlinear refraction under pulse laser excitation is analyzed from the viewpoint of the electrondonor/acceptor units of polythiophenes. Moreover, changes of nonlinearity according to the lengths of main chains in polythiophene molecules are discussed.     

Poled Silica/DR1 Films with Thermally Stability and Large Electro-Optic Coefficient Applying in External Probe Tip

Sol-gel-processed silica films doped with Disperse Red 1（DR1） were prepared at 80℃ aging temperature and 120℃ baking temperature with corona poling to obtain stable and large electro-optic （EO） coefficient and film strength. A large EO coefficient of γ33 = 56 pm/V was measured for the film of 05μm thickness at the wavelength of 1300nm, and the value was unvaried at room temperature. Moreover, an external EO probe tip using the film was fabricated for the first time, and a signal voltage level corresponding to the EO signal was calibrated successfully.     

Enhancement of Second- and Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Susceptibilities in Magnetized Semiconductors

Using electromagnetic treatment, an expression of effective nonlinear optical susceptibility χe [= χe^（2） ＋ χe^（3） E] is obtained for Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconducting crystals in an applied transverse dc magnetic fieM under off-resonant transition regime. The origin of nonlinear interaction lies in nonlinear polarization arising from the crystal properties such as piezoelectricity and electrostriction. Numerical estimates have been made by a representative n-InSb crystal at 77K duly irradiated by a pulsed 10.6-μm CO2 laser under off-resonant transition regime. Efforts are dedicated to optimizing doping level and externally applied dc magnetic field to achieve maximum χe^（2） and χ3^（3）. The results are found to be in good agreement with the available literature. The analysis shows that χe^（2） and χe^（3） can be significantly enhanced in doped Ⅲ-Ⅴ semiconductors by the proper selection of doping concentration and dc magnetic field, which confirms its potential as a candidate material for the fabrication of nonlinear optical devices.     

Third-Order Optical Nonlinearity in Novel Porphyrin Dimers

We investigate the third-order optical nonlinearities in four novel porphyrin dimers （dimers A to D） and a monomeric porphyrin H2 CPTPP measured by using the single-beam z-scan technique with a pulsed Q-switched Nd：YAG nanosecond laser at 532nm. All the samples show strong excited state absorption （ESA） and high value of Х^（3） in the ns domain at this wavelength. We perform a comparison between dimer A and its monomer H2 CPTPP in their third-order optical nonlinearity, and discuss the relationships between the values of Х^（3） and the different bridging groups for all the dimers.     

Optical Properties of Co-BaTiO3/Mg（100） Nano-Composite Films Grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition Method

Co nanoparticles embedded in a BaTiO3 matrix, namely Co-BaTiO3 nano-composite films are grown on Mg（100） single crystal substrates by the pulsed laser deposition （PLD） method at 650℃. Optical properties of the CoBaTiO3 nano-composite films are examined by absorption spectra （AS） and photoluminescence （PL） spectra. The results indicate that the concentration of Co nano-particles strongly influences the electron transition of the Co BaTiO3 nano-composite films. The PL emission band ranging from 1.9 to 2.2eV is reported. The AS and PL spectra suggest that the band gap is in the range of 3.28-3.7eV.     

Femtosecond Z-scan measurement of third-order optical nonlinearities in anatase TiO2 thin films

Anatase phase TiO₂ films have been grown on fused silica substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique at substrate temperature of 750 °C under the oxygen pressure of 5 Pa. From the transmission spectra, the optical band gap and linear refractive index of the TiO₂ films were determined. The third-order optical nonlinearities of the films were measured by Z-scan method using a femtosecond laser (50 fs) at the wavelength of 800 nm. The real and imaginary parts of third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ were determined to be −7.1 × 10⁻¹¹esu and −4.42 × 10⁻¹²esu, respectively. The figure of merit, T, defined by T=βλ/n₂, was calculated to be 0.8, which meets the requirement of all-optical switching devices. The results show that the anatase TiO₂ films have great potential applications for nonlinear optical devices.     

Optical and Electrical Properties Evolution of Diamond-Like Carbon Thin Films with Deposition Temperature

Optical and electrical properties of diamond-like carbon （DLC） films deposited by pulsed laser ablation of graphite target at different substrate temperatures are reported. By varying the deposition temperature from 400 to 25℃, the film optical transparency and electrical resistivity increase severely. Most importantly, the transparency and resistivity properties of the DLC films can be tailored to approaching diamond by adjusting the deposition temperature, which is critical to many applications. DLC films deposited at low temperatures show excellent optical transmittance and high resistivity. Over the same temperature regime an increase of the spa bonded C content is observed using visible Raman spectroscopy, which is responsible for the enhanced transparency and resistivity properties.     

Effect of Ag Nanoparticles on Optical Properties of R6G Doped PMMA Films

The composite PMMA films containing Ag nanoparticles and rhodamine 6G are prepared. We investigate the fluorescence properties and nonlinear optical properties of R6G/PMMA films influenced by Ag nanoparticles. The fluorescence enhancement factor is about 3.3. The corresponding nonlinear refractive index is measured to be -2.423 ×10^-8 esu using the Z-scan technique, which is much enhanced compared with the R6G/PMMA film. The results indicate that these enhancements are attributed to surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles.     

Optical limiting in cobalt-doped polyvinylpyrrolidone

The results of optical limiting investigations of cobalt-doped polyvinylpyrrolidone solutions are presented. The optical limiting studies have shown that this process is due to self-defocusing at the wavelength of 1064 nm and also due to reverse saturable absorption and self-defocusing at the wavelength of 532 nm. The results of measurements on the non-linear optical characteristics of organometallic complexes are presented. Received: 10 July 2001 / Revised version: 15 October 2001 / Published online: 29 November 2001     

Nonlinear optical properties in SrTiO3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition

Well-crystallized 250 nm-thick SrTiO₃ thin films on fused-quartz substrate were prepared by pulsed laser deposition. The band-gap of SrTiO₃ thin film by transmittance spectra is equal to 3.50 eV, larger than 3.22 eV for the bulk crystal. The nonlinear optical properties of the films were examined with picosecond pulses at 1.064 μm excitation. A large two-photon absorption (TPA) with absorption coefficient of 87.7 cm/GW was obtained, larger than 51.7 cm/GW for BaTiO₃ thin films. The nonlinear refractive index n₂ is equal to 5.7×10⁻¹⁰ esu with a negative sign, larger than 0.267×10⁻¹¹ esu for bulk SrTiO₃. The large TPA is attributed to intermediate energy levels introduced by the grain boundaries, and the optical limiting behaviors stemming from both TPA and negative nonlinear refraction were also discussed.     

Infrared reflectivity of Cox(SiO2)1−x (x∼0.85, 0.55, 0.38) granular films on SiO2 glass substrates

We report the infrared specular reflectivity of Co_x(SiO₂)_1−x (x∼0.85, 0.55, 0.38) films on SiO₂ glass spanning from a metal-like to insulating behavior. While films for x∼0.85 show carrier metallic shielding and hopping conductivity, for x∼0.65 and lower concentrations, the nanoparticles’ number and size promote a localization edge near the highest longitudinal optical frequency. Such an edge is associated with a reflectivity minimum and a higher frequency band connoting strong electron-phonon interactions, carrier phonon assisted hopping, and polaron formation. Optical conductivity fits with current polaron models provide grounds toward a microscopic understanding of transport properties in these as-prepared granular films.     

Ultrafast extrinsic spin-Hall currents

We consider the possibility of ultrafast extrinsic spin-Hall currents, generated by skew scattering following the optical injection of charge or pure spin currents. We propose a phenomenological model for this effect in quantum well structures. An injected charge current leads to a spin-Hall-induced pure spin current, and an injected pure spin current leads to a spin-Hall-induced charge current. The resulting spin or charge accumulation can be measured optically.     

Effects of Annealing Temperature on Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films

The effects of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films grown on Si （100） substrates by sol-gel spin-coating are investigated. The structural and optical properties are characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectra. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the crystal quality of ZnO films becomes better after annealing at high temperature. The grain size increases with the temperature increasing. It is found that the tensile stress in the plane of ZnO films first increases and then decreases with the annealing temperature increasing, reaching the maximum value of 1.8 GPa at 700℃. PL spectra of ZnO films annealed at various temperatures consists of a near band edge emission around 380 nm and visible emissions due to the electronic defects, which are related to deep level emissions, such as oxide antisite （OZn）, interstitial oxygen （Oi）, interstitial zinc （Zni） and zinc vacancy （VZn^-）, which are generated during annealing process. The evolution of defects is analyzed by PL spectra based on the energy of the electronic transitions.