Title

Femtosecond-to-nanosecond nonlinear spectroscopy of polymethine molecules

Authors

Authors

R. S. Lepkowicz; C. M. Cirloganu; J. Fu; O. V. Przhonska; D. J. Hagan; E. W. Van Stryland; M. V. Bondar; Y. L. Slominsky;A. D. Kachkovski

Comments

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Abbreviated Journal Title

J. Opt. Soc. Am. B-Opt. Phys.

Keywords

EXCITED-STATE ABSORPTION; REVERSE SATURABLE ABSORBERS; SQUARYLIUM; MOLECULES; TRANSIENT REGIME; DYES; DYNAMICS; CARBOCYANINES; RELAXATION; ANISOTROPY; REFRACTION; Optics

Abstract

The linear and nonlinear optical properties of a series of polymethine molecules are investigated to study the effects of molecular structure and the host environment on overall nonlinear absorption performance. The linear characterization includes measuring the solvatochromic shifts between absorption and fluorescence peaks and studying the excited-state orientational diffusion kinetics. The nonlinear characterization involves measuring the excited-state absorption spectra with a femtosecond white-light-continuum pump-probe technique and performing Z scans and nonlinear transmission measurements from the picosecond to the nanosecond time regimes. The results of these experiments allow us to develop an energy-level structure for the polymethines, which accurately predicts nonlinear absorption properties from the picosecond to the nanosecond time regimes. From this model we are able to identify the key molecular parameters for improved nonlinear absorption. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America

Journal Title

Journal of the Optical Society of America B-Optical Physics

Volume

22

Issue/Number

12

Publication Date

1-1-2005

Document Type

Article

Language

English

First Page

2664

Last Page

2685

WOS Identifier

WOS:000233922700018

ISSN

0740-3224

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