Nonlinear refractive and optical limiting measurements of 2-thienylchalcone derivatives under cw laser regime

The nonlinear refractive index of 2-thienylchalcone derivatives in solution was investigated using z-scan technique with a continuous wave Argon ion laser. The results show that 2-thienylchalcone derivatives exhibit a large nonlinear refractive index at 488 nm. The optical limiting behaviour based on nonlinear refractive index was also investigated. The fluorescence from the samples was recorded and the relationship between the variation of nonlinear refractive index values and optical limiting values with fluorescence intensity were investigated. The results indicated that 2-thienylchalcone derivatives could be promising candidates for application on nonlinear photonic devices.     

Two-layer hybrid anti-reflection film prepared on the plastic substrates

Two-layer hybrid anti-reflection (AR) and anti-static (AS) films are formed on the flexible substrates such as polyethylene terephthalate and triacetyl cellulose. The AR layer is composed of two layers; indium-tin oxide (ITO) and thermo-curable fluorinated alkoxy silane compounds (JN7) made by DC magnetron roll sputtering and direct wet coating method, respectively. The polymer for an upper layer was used as the low refractive index (n_F=1.35) material, while ITO was chosen as the high refractive index (n_ITO=2.0) material with good electrical conductivity. The AR property (R<0.8%) and the AS and electromagnetic shielding properties (i.e. the electrical conductivity) were almost the same as the conventional transparent multi-layer AR system.     

Intrinsic mechanical properties of ultra-thin amorphous carbon layers

In this work, we extracted the film's hardness (H_F) of ultra-thin diamond-like carbon layers by simultaneously taking into account the tip blunting and the substrate effect. As compared to previous approaches, which did not consider tip blunting, this resulted in marked differences (30-100%) for the H_F value of the thinner carbon coatings. We find that the nature of the substrate influences this intrinsic film parameter and hence the growth mechanisms. Moreover, the H_F values generally increase with film thickness. The 10 nm and 50 nm thick hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films deposited onto Si have H_F values of, respectively, ∼26 GPa and ∼31 GPa whereas the 10 nm and 50 nm thick tetrahedral amorphous carbon (t-aC) films deposited onto Si have H_F values of, respectively, ∼29 GPa and ∼38 GPa. Both the a-C:H and t-aC materials also show higher density and refractive index values for the thicker coatings, as measured, respectively by X-ray reflectometry and optical profilometry analysis. However, the Raman analysis of the a-C:H samples show bonding characteristics which are independent of the film thickness. This indicates that in these ultra-thin hydrogenated carbon films, the arrangement of sp² clusters does not relate directly to the hardness of the film.     

High Pressure effect on fluorescence lifetime τ for magnetic dipole 5D0→5F1 transitions in YAG:Eu3+

The fluorescence lifetime for magnetic dipole ⁵D₀→⁷F₁ transition in yttrium aluminum garnet doped with Eu³⁺ (YAG:Eu³⁺) crystal was studied under the pressure of up to 10.4?GPa at room temperature. The fluorescence lifetime τ (⁵D₀→⁷F₁ transition) slowly decreased with pressure. The pressure effect on τ (⁵D₀→⁷F₁ transition) was explained with a model which considered pressure effect on line position: inter-ionic distance, ion volume, molecular volume, ion polarizability, molecular polarizability, sample refractive index, and surrounding hydrostatic medium refractive index. The fluorescence lifetime τ calculated by the presented model was in close correspondence with the experimental values.     

Study of optical properties in a cubic quantum dot

In this paper, the effect of hydrostatic pressure on both the intersubband optical absorption coefficients and the refractive index changes is studied for typical GaAs/Al _x  Ga_1?x As cubic quantum dot. We use analytical expressions for the linear and third-order nonlinear intersubband absorption coefficients and refractive index changes obtained by the compact-density matrix formalism. The linear, third-order nonlinear, and total intersubband absorption coefficients and refractive index changes are calculated at different pressures as a function of the photon energy with known values of box length (L), the incident optical intensity (I), and Al concentration (x). According to the results obtained from the present work, we have found that the pressure plays an important role in the intersubband optical absorption coefficient and refractive index changes in a cubic quantum dot.     

High-precision measurement system based on laser interferometer for determining alcohol concentration of liquid solution

This study develops a high-precision, non-destructive measurement technique based on a laser interferometer for determining the alcohol concentration of a liquid solution from its refractive index. The optical metrology system is employed to measure the refractive indexes of samples with known alcohol concentrations ranging from 5% to 95%. By applying regressional analysis to the experimental results, an analytical expression is derived to describe the quadratic relationship between the refractive index and the alcohol concentration. An excellent agreement is observed between the experimentally determined values of the alcohol concentration and the analytically predicted results. For an assumed laser interferometer resolution of 1 nm, the measurement resolution of the proposed metrology system is found to be at least F = 0.0025%, which is significantly better than that of typical stereometry methods (approximately 1.0%) Furthermore, it is shown that the measurement resolution improves as the alcohol concentration reduces.     

The non-linear refractive index of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals: Spectroscopy and saturation behaviour

A spectroscopic study of the optical non-linearities of PbSe colloidal solutions was performed with the Z-scan technique, at wavelengths between 1200 and 1750 nm. No non-linear absorption is observed, while the third-order non-linear refractive index n₂ shows clear resonances, somewhat blueshifted relative to the exciton transitions in the absorbance spectrum. The occurrence of thermal effects is ruled out by time-resolved measurements. At resonance, measured n₂ values exceed typical bulk semiconductor values by two orders of magnitude. At high optical intensity, the refractive index change saturates, indicating that state filling lies at the origin of the observed effect.     

The effects of pressure and hydrogenic donor impurity on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of a GaAs/GaAlAs nanowire superlattice

The combined effects of hydrostatic pressure, presence and absence of hydrogenic donor impurity are investigated on the linear and nonlinear optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes of a GaAs/Ga_1−xAl_xAs nanowire superlattice. The wave functions and corresponding eigenvalues are calculated using finite difference method in the framework of effective mass approximation. Analytical expressions for the linear and third order nonlinear optical absorption coefficients and refractive index changes are obtained by means of compact-density matrix formalism. The linear and third order nonlinear absorption coefficient and refractive index changes are presented as a function of photon energy for different values of hydrostatic pressure, incident photon intensity and relaxation time in the presence and absence of hydrogenic donor impurity. It is found that the linear and third order nonlinear absorption coefficients, refractive index changes and resonance energy are quite sensitive to the presence of impurity and applied hydrostatic pressure. Moreover, the saturation in optical spectrum and relaxation time can be adjusted by increasing pressure in presence of impurity whereas the effect of hydrostatic pressure is negligible in the case of absence of hydrogenic impurity.     

The dependence of complex refractive index for four-level atom on radiation frequencies

The spectral analysis of refractive index for four-level configuration is done for dye molecules with a Gaussian form of coincident mirror-symmetric absorption and emission bands in both principal singlet?singlet and excited triplet?triplet channels. The optimum values of extinction coefficient in both channels are achieved at frequency tuning near the center of absorption band for each channel. The radiation frequencies in principal η₁₂ ? ±2 and in excited ?1 < η₃₄ < 1 channels are required to achieve the extreme values of refractive index in principal channel. The extreme values of refractive index in excited channel occur at frequencies ?1 < η₁₂ < 1 and η₃₄ ? ±1.4.     

Structural and optical evaluation of WOxNy films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering

Thin films of tungsten oxynitrides were deposited on substrates preheated at 300 °C from metallic tungsten target using reactive pulsed d.c. magnetron sputtering. The deposition was carried out at different nitrogen to total reactive gas partial pressures ratios. The energy dispersive analysis of X-ray showed that significant incorporation of nitrogen occurred only when the nitrogen partial pressure exceeded 74% of the total reactive gas pressure. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the formation of a specific crystalline phase is affected by the composition and the possibility of competitive growth of different phases. The increase of nitrogen content into the films increases the optical absorption and decreases the optical band gap. The refractive index was determined from the transmittance spectra using Swanepoel's method. It was found that the refractive index increases with increasing nitrogen content over the entire spectral range. The values of the tungsten effective coordination number, N_c, was estimated from the analysis of the dispersion of the refractive index, and an increase in N_c with increasing nitrogen content was observed.     

High-pressure optical studies of Y2O3:Eu3+ nanoparticles

Abstract

The fluorescence spectra of Y₂O₃:Eu³⁺ nanoparticles have been measured under the pressure of up to 78 kbar at room temperature. In this pressure range, a red-shift of 0.02(1) nm/kbar^?1 is noticed for the 0–2 line (⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition). This shift is explained by the change of negative charge of the surrounding ligands. Compatibility between measured and calculated values for the 0–2 line position was obtained. The luminescence decay curves of the ⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition were studied up to 78 kbar and were found to behave exponentially for all pressures studied. The fluorescence lifetime τ for the 0–2 line (⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition) slowly decreased with pressure. The pressure effect on τ for the 0–2 line (⁵D₀→⁷F₂ transition) was explained by a model which considers the pressure effect on the line position, inter-ionic distance, ion volume and polarizability, molecular volume and polarizability, molecular refractive index and the refractive index medium n _med of the surrounding hydrostatic medium. The fluorescence lifetime calculated by the present model is in close correspondence with the experimental values.     

Optical parameters of epitaxial GaN thin film on Si substrate from the reflection spectrum

A method has been proposed for determining the optical properties of a thin film layer on absorbing substrates. The film optical parameters such as thickness, refractive index, absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient and the optical energy gap of an absorbing film are retrieved from the interference fringes of the reflection spectrum at normal incidence. The envelopes of the maxima of the spectrum E_M and of the minima E_m are introduced in analytical forms to find the reflectance amplitudes at the interfaces and approximate values of the thin film refractive index. Then, the interference orders and film thickness are calculated to get accurate values of the needed optical parameters. There are no complex fitting procedures or assumed theoretical refractive index dispersion relations. The method is applied to calculate the optical properties of an epitaxial gallium nitride thin film on a silicon (1 1 1) substrate. Good agreement between our results and the published data are obtained.     

Non-linear optical properties and all optical switching of Congo red in solution

We present the results from investigations of the nonlinear properties of Congo red solutions using Z-scan technique with a continuous wave argon ion laser at 514 nm. The magnitude and sign of the third-order nonlinear refractive index n₂ of aqueous solution of Congo red were determined. The nonlinear refractive index was found to vary with concentration. Third-order nonlinearity is dominated by nonlinear refractive index, which leads to strong self-defocusing and self diffraction in the samples studied. A pump and probe technique was used to investigate the origin of nonlinearity. Furthermore the nonlinear refractive index effect was utilized to demonstrate all optical switching. The optical limiting behavior based on nonlinear refractive index was investigated.     

Refractive index, birefringence, third-order non-linearity and piezoelectric resonance studies of L-lysine monohydrochloride dihydrate single crystals

The principal refractive indices of L-lysine monohydrochloride dihydrate (L-LMHCl) single crystal for different wavelengths were measured by minimum deviation method at room temperature. The experimental values of refractive indices fit well with the theoretical Cauchy's equations. The birefringence and the crossing angle between the optical axes were calculated. The parameters of Sellmeier's single term dispersion equation were determined by least square method. A simple interferometric technique was used to observe the interference patterns along the optic plane and to qualitatively analyze the optical homogeneity of the grown crystal. The nonlinear refractive index (n₂) and nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) were also determined using Z-scan technique. The piezoelectric resonance in dielectric dispersions was observed at room temperature.     

Nonlinear optical properties of nanospherical layer in the presence of an electric field

The linear and nonlinear optical properties in a spherical nanolayer quantum system subjected to an uniform applied electric field directed with respect to the z-axis have been theoretically investigated within the compact-density matrix formalism and the iterative method. The dependence of the optical absorption coefficients (ACs) and refractive index (RI) changes on the core radius R₁, on the inner radius of the clad R₂, and on the applied electric field F has been investigated detailedly. The results show that the optical ACs and RI changes of the nanospherical layer have been strongly affected by these factors. Moreover, the outcome of the calculation also suggests that all the factors mentioned above can give rise to blue-shift or red-shift significantly.     

Measurement of the figure of merit of indigenously developed Nd-doped phosphate laser glass rods for use in high power lasers

High energy, high power (HEHP) Nd:glass laser systems are used for inertial confinement fusion and equation of state (EOS) studies of materials at high temperature and pressure. A program has been undertaken for the indigenous development of Nd-doped phosphate laser glass rods and discs for HEHP lasers. In this paper, we report the characterization of the Nd-doped phosphate laser glass rods produced under this program and compare the indigenously developed laser glass to LHG-8 laser glass of M/s Hoya, Japan. We experimentally measured the values of the stimulated emission cross-section (σ) and coefficient of intensity-dependent refractive index (n ₂) and hence the figure of merit F = σ / n₂ of the indigenous phosphate laser glass rods. This value is found comparable to the reported value of identically doped Nd:glass rods.     

Studies on the opto-electronic properties of III–V and II–VI group semiconductors from optical electronegativities

New empirical relations have been proposed to evaluate bond energies (E_s) in compound semiconductors, first from the knowledge of optical electronegativities of the constituent ions and secondly from the energy gap values. The validity of the two relations has been tested in the case of certain III–V and II–VI group semiconductors by comparing the calculated values of E_s, with those in the literature. From the computed values of E_s, refractive indices have been calculated. The Penn gap (E_p), Fermi energy (E_F) and S_o-parameter for these semiconductors have also been determined. The estimated values of these parameters are utilized to evaluate the electronic polarizabilities (α). The computed values of a compare excellently with the standard data.     

Optical and structural parameters of the ZnO thin film grown by pulsed filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

Transparent conductive ZnO film was deposited on glass substrate by pulsed filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (PFCVAD). Optical parameters such as absorption coefficient α, the refractive index n, energy band gap E_g and dielectric constants have been determined using different methods. Kramers-Kronig and dispersion relations were employed to determine the complex refractive index and dielectric constants using reflection data in the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared regions. The spectra of the dielectric coefficient were used to calculate the energy band gap and the value was 3.24 eV. The experimental energy band gap was found to be 3.22 eV for 357 nm thick ZnO thin film. The envelope method was also used to calculate the refractive index and the data were consistent with K-K relation results. The structure of the film was analyzed with an x-ray diffractometer and the film was polycrystalline in nature with preferred (002) orientation.     

Real-time measurement of glucose concentration and average refractive index using a laser interferometer

This study presents a non-destructive, highly precise optical metrology system for measuring the average refractive index of a liquid solution such that its glucose concentration can be derived. The metrology system is employed to measure the average refractive indices of samples with known glucose concentrations ranging from 0 to 200 g/l. By applying a regressional analysis technique to the experimental results, an analytical expression is derived to describe the relationship between the refractive index and the glucose concentration. An excellent agreement is observed between the experimentally determined values of the glucose concentration and the analytically derived results. For an assumed laser interferometer resolution of 1 nm, the measurement resolution of the proposed metrology system is found to be at least F=0.05 g/l, which is significantly better than that of F=2 g/l obtained using the polarimetric glucose sensor presented by Lo and Yu [A polarimetric glucose sensor using a liquid-crystal polarization modulator driven by a sinusoidal signal. Opt Commun, 2006; 259: 40–8].