Nonlinear optical behavior of metallic nanoparticle suspensions at high laser fluences

A large number of nanomaterials as well as several organic molecular systems were found to possess strong nonlinear optical (NLO) response under intense illumination with laser light. These nonlinear (NL) materials are of... [ view full abstract ]

A large number of nanomaterials as well as several organic molecular systems were found to possess strong nonlinear optical (NLO) response under intense illumination with laser light. These nonlinear (NL) materials are of special interest for a multitude of applications in optoelectronics, like optical switching and limiting, as well as in optical computing, optical memory and nonlinear spectroscopy. (1)-(3)

This work presents a detailed study on the NLO response of suspended metallic nanoparticles from low up to very high laser fluences. The different NL phenomena, like NL transmittance and NL scattering were investigated using nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The nanoparticles were characterized regarding their linear optical properties by spectral transmission measurements and regarding their structure by electron microscopy. We discuss our results in terms of the suitability of metallic nanoparticle suspensions for optical limiting applications.

(1) R. S. Marder, Chem. Commun., 2006, 131–134

(2) P. C. Ray, Chem. Rev., 2010, 110, 9, 5332–5365

(3) N. Venkatram, R. S. S. Kumar, R. D. Narayana, S. K. Medda, S. De, G. De, J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol., 6, 2006, 1990-1994