Studies of nonlinear optical properties of PicoGreen dye using Z-scan technique

In this paper we study the nonlinear optical properties of PicoGreen dye. The investigations involve the single-beam Z-scan technique and measurements were carried out at different incident intensities. Both open and closed aperture Z-scan techniques were performed at 532 nm and it was found that the dye exhibited a reverse saturable absorption with significant nonlinear absorption coefficient and intensity-dependent negative nonlinear refraction coefficient, indicating self-defocusing phenomena. The third-order nonlinear susceptibility and optical limiting threshold were also measured.     

有机材料ZnTBP-CA-PhR的非线性吸收和光学限幅性能

报道了一种新型有机材料ZnTBP-CA-PhR的光学非线性吸收特性，此材料在激光作用下，在可见光区域具有反饱和吸收，再反饱和吸收和饱和吸收效应.同时发现该材料优良的光学限幅性能，不仅光限幅的阈值低，而且限幅前光透射呈线性状态没有光学非线性效应.用5能级结构模型及速率方程模拟了饱和及反饱和的实验曲线，分析了非线性吸收等的物理机理.     

Effect of self assembly on the nonlinear optical characteristics of ZnO thin films

In the present work, we report the third order nonlinear optical properties of ZnO thin films deposited using self assembly, sol gel process as well as pulsed laser ablation by z scan technique. ZnO thin films clearly exhibit a negative nonlinear index of refraction at 532 nm and the observed nonlinear refraction is attributed to two photon absorption followed by free carrier absorption. Although the absolute nonlinear values for these films are comparable, there is a change in the sign of the absorptive nonlinearity of the films. The films developed by dip coating and pulsed laser ablation exhibit reverse saturable absorption whereas the self assembled film exhibits saturable absorption. These different nonlinear characteristics in the self assembled films can be mainly attributed to the saturation of linear absorption of the ZnO defect states.     

Effects of metallization and bromination on nonlinear optical properties of diphenylporphyrins

Nonlinear refraction and nonlinear absorption of diphenylporphyrins with bromination and metallization were studied by Z-scan technique in nanosecond and picosecond regimes. Results show that both metallization and bromination of diphenylporphyrins can cause the regular change of magnitude and sign of nonlinear absorption. The transition between saturable absorption and reverse saturable absorption happens as bromine increases and metal ion changes. The effect of bromination on nonlinear refraction is small, the change of nonlinear refraction is mainly attributed to the metallization. Influences of photophysical parameters on nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction have been elucidated using five-level models.     

Saturable and reverse saturable absorption in aqueous silver nanoparticles at off-resonant wavelength

Silver nano-colloid was prepared by chemical reduction method and its nonlinear absorption properties were investigated by using open aperture z-scan experiment with nanosecond laser pulses operating at 532?nm. Interestingly, a switch over from saturable absorption to reverse saturable absorption was observed when the input intensity is increased from 28.1 to 175.8?MW/cm². The underlying mechanism responsible for the observed switching behaviour is the interplay between ground state plasmon band bleaching and excited state absorption. Theoretical fitting was done by using a model in which nonlinear absorption coefficient as well as saturation intensity are incorporated.     

一种新型非晶态分子材料的非线性光学折射率和吸收特性

用单光束扫描法测量了在532nm处一种新型非晶态分子材料5,5′Bis(dimesitylboryl)2,2′bithiophene的非线性折射率和吸收系数样品非线性透射特性的分析表明,在靠近线性吸收区的532nm处有饱和吸收存在由三能级饱和模型和Zscan法确定了饱和强度、非线性折射率的实部和虚部研究结果表明:这种新型非晶态分子材料具有非常好的光子学应用前景.     

Nonlinear optical characteristics of self-assembled films of ZnO

In the present work, we have investigated the nonlinear optical properties of self-assembled films formed from ZnO colloidal spheres by z-scan technique. The sign of the nonlinear component of refractive index of the material remains the same; however, a switching from reverse saturable absorption to saturable absorption has been observed as the material changes from colloid to self-assembled film. These different nonlinear characteristics can be mainly attributed to ZnO defect states and electronic effects when the colloidal solution is transformed into self-assembled monolayers. We investigated the intensity, wavelength and size dependence of saturable and reverse saturable absorption of ZnO self-assembled films and colloids. Values of the imaginary part of third-order susceptibility are calculated for particles of size in the range 20–300 nm at different intensity levels ranging from 40 to 325 MW/cm² within the wavelength range of 450–650 nm. PACS 81.16.Dn; 42.65.-k; 42.65.An; 42.70.-a; 42.70.Nq; 78.20.Ci     

Nonresonant and Resonant Nonlinear Absorption of CdSe-Based Nanoplatelets

We present a comprehensive understanding of the nonlinear absorption characteristics of CdSe-based nanoplatelets(NPLs) synthesized by the solution-phase method and the colloidal atomic layer deposition approach through Z-scan techniques at 532 nm with picosecond pulses. The CdSe NPLs exhibit strong two-photon induced free carrier absorption(effective three-photon absorption) upon the nonresonant excitation, resulting in a remarkable optical limiting behavior with the limiting threshold of approximately 75 GW/cm~2. A nonlinear optical switching from saturable absorption(SA) to reverse saturable absorption(RSA) with increasing the laser intensity is observed when coating CdSe NPLs with a monolayer of CdS shell to realize the resonant absorption. The SA behavior originates from the ground state bleaching and the RSA behavior is attributed to the free carrier absorption.These findings explicitly demonstrate the potential applications of CdSe-based NPLs in nonlinear optoelectronics such as optical limiting devices, optical pulse compressors and optical switching devices.     

Third-order optical nonlinearities of α,ω-dithienylpolyenes and oligo(thienylvinylene)

α,ω-Dithienylpolyenes and oligo(thienylvinylene) are interesting third-order nonlinear optical materials for a variety of device applications. To better understand the third-order nonlinear response of these materials, the third-order susceptibilities (χ⁽³⁾) and nonlinear absorption behaviors of two α,ω-dithienylpolyenes with different conjugation length and two oligo(thienylvinylene) with different substituents on the thiophene rings have been studied using degenerate four wave mixing (DFWM) and nonlinear transmission techniques at 532 nm. The χ⁽³⁾ values of 1×10⁻³ mol/l solutions are all of the order of 10⁻¹³ esu. The χ⁽³⁾ values increase with the increase of the linear absorption coefficient. In addition, these compounds exhibit reverse saturable absorption for nanosecond laser pulses. The strength of reverse saturable absorption varies when the conjugation length and substituents change. Moreover, the nonlinear absorption characteristics of these compounds in the picosecond regime differ from those in the nanosecond regime. The different nonlinear absorption behavior is due to the relative contributions from excited singlet–singlet and triplet–triplet absorption. The strong reverse saturable absorption characteristics of two of the compounds suggest that they could be potential candidates for optical limiting applications in the nanosecond regime.     

Temporal response of nonlinear transmission in optically thick saturable absorbers and determination of saturable absorption parameters

The temporal response of nonlinear transmission in saturable absorbers is theoretically investigated on the basis of a four-energy-level model including an excited-state absorption, and is experimentally employed for determining saturable absorption parameters in saturable-dye-doped films. The approximation of optically thin absorbers is shown to be inadequate to this end. In theoretical calculations, optically thick saturable absorbers are treated by a set of simultaneous partial differential equations: a rate equation governing the dynamics of population densities of energy levels and a propagation equation governing the propagation of optical fields in the optically thick absorbers. By comparing experimental results with numerical ones, the saturable absorption parameters can be determined on the basis of the intensity dependence of response time. In numerical calculations, the effect of random orientation is also considered for optically anisotropic molecules rigidly fixed in saturable absorbing media. The characterization of the saturable absorption parameters is conducted by using uranine-doped poly(vinyl alcohol) films.     

All-fiber erbium-doped dissipative soliton laser with multimode interference based on saturable-reserve saturable hybrid optical switch

Reverse saturable absorption is essential for the realization of dissipative solitons. In this paper, we introduce reverse saturable absorption by using nonlinear multimode interference (NL-MMI), for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, and obtain a stable dissipative soliton operation. By adjusting the coupling efficiency from multimode fiber to single mode fiber, the absorption properties of NL-MMI can be switched between saturation and reverse saturation. The dissipative soliton can be obtained with pulse width of 975 fs in the experiment, the 3-dB bandwidth at 1555 nm is 16 nm, and the maximum output power is 11.48 mW. The nonlinear absorption optical modulation and high damage threshold characteristics of the NL-MMI based ultrafast optical switch provide a new idea for realizing dissipative solitons.     

Wavelength-dependent nonlinear absorption of gold nanocages

The dipole resonances of gold nanocages were investigated theoretically using finite difference time domain method.The results show that field enhancement is obtained at the walls of the gold nanocages.It is believed that the effect can cause a strong optical nonlinear property.To test the hypothesis,nonlinear absorption was investigated using a broadband 5 ns Z scan.It was found that at low intensities the sample shows saturable absorption(SA),while at higher intensities a switch from SA to reverse SA occurs.Moreover,the nonlinear absorption of the sample is sensitively wavelength-dependent,and,in the resonant region,saturation intensity is the largest.     

Enhancing the linear absorption and tuning the nonlinearity of TiO2 nanowires through the incorporation of Ag nanoparticles

We report on the enhanced linear absorption and modified nonlinear absorption of TiO2 nanowires coated with Ag nanoparticles. Experimental results indicated that the coated Ag nanoparticles significantly increased the linear absorption of the nanostructures in the wavelength range of visible light. Z-scan experiments showed that when the excitation energy increased, the nonlinear absorption of the TiO2 nanowires changed from reverse-saturable absorption to saturable absorption. When Ag nanoparticles were coated on the TiO2 nanowires, the reverse-saturable absorption was significantly inhibited. The as-prepared nanostructures may find potential applications in the field of solar cells and all-optical switching.     

Propagation of Gaussian beam in an absorbing waveguide

Propagation of a Gaussian beam in an absorbing waveguide is analyzed for cubic-quintic and saturable media taking into account both linear and nonlinear absorption. A “collective variable approach” technique, based on trial functions, is used to solve the general nonlinear Schrodinger equation. In the absence of losses, we construct a diagram which defines regions of oscillatory and diffractive beam propagation for both types of media, and also a diagram that compares bistable behavior in such media. We show that if the linear and nonlinear absorption coefficients are small, the behavior of the oscillations of the beam width on propagation allows one to distinguish between cubic-quintic and saturable media. By reversing the sign of the linear absorption, we analyze the behavior of the beam propagation in media with gain and nonlinear absorption. In cubic-quintic media, the energy reaches a plateau for certain ratios of gain to losses, whereas for saturable media, the energy increases throughout the beam propagation.     

1-(2-吡啶偶氮)-2-萘酚薄膜的非线性光学特性研究

运用Ｚ扫描方法研究了１－（２－吡啶偶氮）－２－萘酚薄膜的非线性光学特性。用皮秒脉冲激光测得在５３２ ｎｍ 处、光强较低时χ（３）Ｒ ＝ １．２９×１０－ ９ ｅｓｕ, β＝ ４２ ｃｍ ／ＧＷ; 同时研究了不同光脉冲能量时的非线性吸收特性, 发现其非线性吸收随着光强的增大由反饱和吸收转为饱和吸收     

Z-scan analytical theory for material with saturable absorption and two-photon absorption

By using the Adomian decomposition method, we present the transmitted optical intensity of a nonlinear medium with the concurrence of saturable absorption (SA) and two-photon absorption (TPA) processes. We obtain the analytical expression of the open-aperture Z-scan and investigate the interplay between SA and TPA in the Z-scan trace. Through Z-scan measurements at different levels of laser intensities, both the saturable intensity and TPA coefficient could be obtained quickly yet unambiguously.     

Thermally induced nonlinear optical response and optical power limiting of acid blue 40 dye

We report the investigations of thermally induced third-order nonlinear optical and optical limiting characterizations for various concentrations of acid blue 40 dye in N,N-Dimethyl Formamide, studied by employing z-scan technique under cw He–Ne laser irradiation at 633 nm wavelength. The samples exhibited nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction under the experimental conditions. For lower concentration, the samples display both saturable absorption (SA) and reverse saturable absorption (RSA); whereas with increase in concentration, RSA behaviour prevails. The estimated values of the effective coefficients of nonlinear absorption β_eff, nonlinear refraction n₂ and third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ⁽³⁾ were found to be of the order of 10^?2 cm/W, 10^?4 esu and 10^?6 esu respectively. Multiple diffraction rings were observed when the samples were exposed to laser beam due to refractive index change and thermal lensing. The effect of concentration and the laser intensity on the self-diffraction ring patterns was studied experimentally. The acid blue 40 dye also exhibited strong optical limiting properties under cw excitation and reverse saturable absorption is found to be the dominant nonlinear optical process leading to the observed nonlinear behaviour.     

New regime of inverse saturable absorption for self-stabilizing passively mode-locked lasers

The reflectivity of a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM) is generally expected to increase with increasing pulse energy. However, for higher pulse energies the reflectivity can decrease again; we call this a roll-over of the nonlinear reflectivity curve caused by inverse saturable absorption. We show for several SESAMs that the measured roll-over is consistent with two-photon absorption only for short (femtosecond) pulses, while a stronger (yet unidentified) kind of nonlinear absorption is dominant for longer (picosecond) pulses. These inverse saturable absorption effects have important technological consequences, e.g. for the Q-switching dynamics of passively mode-locked lasers. A simple equation using only measurable SESAM parameters and including inverse saturable absorption is derived for the Q-switched mode-locking threshold. We present various data and discuss the sometimes detrimental effects of this roll-over for femtosecond high repetition rate lasers, as well as the potentially very useful consequences for passively mode-locked multi-GHz lasers. We also discuss strategies to enhance or reduce this induced absorption by using different SESAM designs or semiconductor materials. PACS 42.60.Fc; 42.70.Nq; 78.20.Ci     

NONLINEAR EXCITED STATE ABSORPTION IN CADMIUM-PORPHYRIN-LIKE

Nonlinear absorption at 532 nm in a cadmium texaphyrin solution has been studied using 8ns and 23ps laser pulses. The experiments show that reverse saturable absorption occurs in the nanosecond case. For picosecond pulses, RSA occurs only at low fluences, and saturable absorption occurs at high fluences. A six-level model is proposed to explain these nonlinear absorption effects. Several photophysical parameters of excited states for cadmium texaphyrin, such as absorption cross-sections at 532nm and lifetime, have been evaluated by fitting theoretical calculations with the experimental results.     

飞秒激光所致金纳米粒子析出的玻璃非线性吸收

依据Z-scan技术,使用波长532nm的纳秒脉冲,研究了通过聚焦的飞秒脉冲诱导并辅以热处理得到的金纳米粒子析出的玻璃的非线性吸收.观察到金纳米粒子析出的玻璃具有饱和吸收特性.根据局域场效应,对实验结果拟合,得到在接近表面等离子体共振激发情况下,金纳米粒子三阶极化率虚部分别为Imχ(3)m=57×10-7esu.玻璃样品中金纳米粒子的非线性响应主要起源于热电子贡献. 关键词： 带内跃迁 带间跃迁 热电子贡献