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Abbreviated Journal Title

Opt. Express

Keywords

Condensed Matter; Z-Scan; Lens; Absorption; Optics

Abstract

We present the results of modeling of nanosecond pulse propagation in optically absorbing liquid media. Acoustic and electromagnetic wave equations must be solved simultaneously to model refractive index changes due to thermal expansion and/or electrostriction, which are highly transient phenomena on a nanosecond time scale. Although we consider situations with cylindrical symmetry and where the paraxial approximation is valid, this is still a computation-intensive problem, as beam propagation through optically thick media must be modeled. We compare the full solution of the acoustic wave equation with the approximation of instantaneous expansion (steady-state solution) and hence determine the regimes of validity of this approximation. We also find that the refractive index change obtained from the photo-acoustic equation overshoots its steady-state value once the ratio between the pulsewidth and the acoustic transit time exceeds a factor of unity.

Journal Title

Optics Express

Volume

4

Issue/Number

8

Publication Date

1-1-1999

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

315

Last Page

327

WOS Identifier

WOS:000079700800010

ISSN

1094-4087

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