Z-scan determination of the third-order optical nonlinearities of an azo dye using diode-pumped Nd:Yag laser

Optical nonlinearity of dye solutions are studied with considerable interest for their wide spread applications ranging from gain media in lasers to all-optical processing signal devices. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of Brilliant Crocein dye was measured by the Z-scan technique and measurements were carried out for different concentrations. The negative sign of the nonlinear refractive index n₂ indicates that this material exhibits self-defocusing optical nonlinearity and purely saturation absorption at the wavelength 532 nm of the diode-pumped Nd:YAG. These results show that Brilliant Crocein has potential applications in nonlinear optics.     

Characterization of optical waveguides in β-BaB2O4 crystals formed by 3.0 MeV Ni ions implantation

We report on the optical planar waveguides formation and modal characterization in β-BaB₂O₄ crystals by Ni²⁺ ion implantation at energy of 3.0 MeV and doses of 10¹⁴ ions/cm². The prism coupling method was used to investigate the dark-mode property at wavelengths of 633 nm and 1539 nm, respectively. The refractive index profiles of the waveguides with different doses were reconstructed by an effective refractive index method based on the reflectivity calculation method (RCM). The modal analysis indicates that the fields of TM modes can be well restricted in the guiding region, which means the formation of non-leaky waveguide in the crystal.     

Structural and optical properties of waveguides in YbVO4 crystals formed by 3.0 MeV Cu-ions implantation

We report on the structural and optical characterization of waveguides formed in YbVO₄ crystals by Cu²⁺-ion implantation with an energy of 3.0 MeV and doses of 3.0×10¹⁴-1.0×10¹⁵ ions/cm². The damage properties are determined by RBS/Channeling measurements with the help of simulation code RUMP. The m-line method is used to characterize the dark-mode spectroscopy in the planar waveguides. According to the reconstructed refractive index profile of the waveguide cross section, a numerical simulation is carried out to investigate the confinement of the light in the waveguides based on the beam propagation method.     

Investigation of optical nonlinearities in Pd(po)2 by Z-scan technique

With nanosecond scale at a 532 nm wavelength, we firstly measured the nonlinear optical absorption and refraction coefficients of Pd(po)₂ complex by using Z-scan technique, here Hpo=1-hydioxy-2-pyridone. We describe an empirical expression for the case when nonlinear refraction is accompanied by nonlinear absorption to separately evaluate the nonlinear refraction and the nonlinear absorption by performing straightforward measurements with the aperture removed. The nonlinear optical response of Pd(po)₂ was determined by the linear decreasing irradiance-dependence. The nonlinear absorption originates from the near resonant two-photon absorption while the mechanism of the nonlinear refraction is the near resonant two-photon absorption transition enhancement. The linear increasing dependences of the optical nonlinearities on the incident irradiance arise from the population redistribution due to the near resonant two-photon absorption.     

A study of NOX production in air heated by laser discharges: Effect of energy, wavelength, multiple discharges and pressure

An experimental study on the production of NO_X in air heated under the action of a concentrated laser beam is presented. In this experiment laser induced plasma was produced in air in a closed Teflon chamber of inner volume 1600 cm³ by focusing a laser beam with either the wavelength of 1064 or 532 nm from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The NO_X production was measured by chemiluminescence method and the possible effect of wavelengths, multiple discharges, and pressure on the yield of NO_X was studied. The results show that within the studied plasma energy range of 26–253 mJ for 532 nm beam and 16–610 mJ for 1064 nm beam, the NO_X production scales linearly with the dissipated plasma energy. For a given energy, 532 nm beam produces more NO_X in air at atmospheric pressure than the 1064 nm beam. In an attempt to see the possible influence of multiple discharges on the production of NO_X, discharges were created using 2–8 pulses with a repetition rate of 10 pulses per second in stationary air at atmospheric pressure. The results indicate that a certain amount of the NO_X created by a given pulse is destroyed by the subsequent pulses. In order to study the pressure dependence of the NO_X production, the pressure was varied from 16 to 100 kPa in the chamber and it was found that the NO_X production efficiency scales linearly with pressure.     

Two beam coupling gain enhancements in porphyrin:Zn-doped nematic liquid crystals by using grating translation technique with an applied dc field

The two beam coupling (TBC) gains in porphyrin:Zn-doped nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) are greatly enhanced by adopting the grating translation technique with applying dc electric field. The maximum gain coefficient of , whose value is at least three times larger than that of no grating translation was obtained under the applied dc field of and the grating translation speed of . Based on the material and torque balance equations for NLCs taking into account the grating translation, we present the theoretical expressions for TBC gain enhancements, showing excellent agreement with the experimental results.     

Optical fabrication of three-dimensional photonic lattices in LiNbO3:Fe crystals with a single amplitude mask

We fabricate three-dimensional nonlinear photonic lattices in iron-doped lithium niobate photorefractive crystal for the first time by a single amplitude mask. The experimental setup of this method is very simple and flexible. The period of the lattices can be dominated easily. We analyze the three-dimensional photonic lattices by plane wave guiding and far field diffraction pattern imaging. The induced photonic lattices can exist stably for a long time in the photorefractive crystal.     

Transverse laser induced thermoelectric voltage effect in tilted La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 thin films

The transverse laser induced thermoelectric voltage effect has been investigated in tilted La_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ thin films grown on vicinal cut LaAlO₃ (1 0 0) substrates when films are irradiated by pulse laser at room temperature. The detected voltage signals are demonstrated to originate from the transverse Seebeck effect as the linear dependence of voltage on tilted angle in the range of small tilted angle. The Seebeck coefficient anisotropy ΔS of 0.03 μV/K at room temperature is calculated and its distorted cubic structure is thought to be responsible for this. Films grown on a series of substrates with different tilted angles show the optimum angle of 19.8° for the maximum voltage. Film thickness dependence of voltage has also been studied.     

Zn doping of YBa2Cu3O7 in melt textured materials: peak effect and high trapped fields

The previously introduced modified melt crystallization process (MMCP) has been applied to prepare single grain YBCO bulk material with Zn partially substituting for Cu. Hole doping was controlled by an appropriate oxidizing treatment of the as-grown bulk. A field induced pinning was indicated by a well pronounced peak of the critical current density j_c in the j_c vs. H relationship for the maximal oxidized (overdoped) material containing Zn, whereas pure overdoped YBCO shows no peak effect. The peak effect for Zn-doped YBCO appearing for T=77 K at a relatively high field of about 3 T can be attributed to pair breaking by locally induced magnetic moments due to in plane Zn for Cu substitution. Besides high quality of the bulk YBCO, the peak effect is the reason for the trapped field as large as 1.12 T at 77 K in the cylinder of only 25 mm in diameter.     

Element-specific magnetization reversal in Fe/Ce multilayers: : a study by X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and the magneto-optic Kerr effect

Fe/Ce multilayers are magnetically soft with coercive fields of a few Oersteds. In this artificial system, the itinerant 5d electrons of Ce are magnetically polarized by hybridization with the spin–split 3d states of Fe. To obtain an insight into the magnetization reversal process, the element selectivity of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism was used to measure the magnetization of the Ce-5d electrons as a function of an applied magnetic field. Comparison with the magnetization curves studied by the magneto-optic Kerr effect, which averages over the whole system, revealed that the coercivity in the hysteresis of the ordered Ce-5d moments is reduced by 50%. We propose that this is an effect of the magnetically disturbed interface or of the complex non-collinear magnetic structure of the Ce layers detected by recent experiments of X-ray resonant magnetic scattering. The results are compared to the X-ray dichroic and Kerr hysteresis loops of the multilayers Fe/La/Ce/La and Fe/CeH_2−δ. These systems are magnetically harder and their coercivities are identical.