Measurement of third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of polyurethane-containing silica nanocomposites by Z-scan method

ABSTRACT

The Z-scan technique with an Nd: YAG laser at 532 nm was used for detecting the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of the polyurethane semi-open cell (PUSOC)/SiO₂ nanocomposite foam. The synthesized foams are also characterized by SEM images and their microstructural features were analyzed. The origin of optical nonlinearity, in this case, may be related to the presence of the two-photon absorption effect and self-defocusing process. Furthermore, the measured values of third-order NLO susceptibility of the PUSOC/SiO₂ nanocomposite foam were of the order of 10⁻⁷esu.

KEYWORDS:

• Polyurethane
• nanocomposite
• third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility
• nonlinear optics
• Z-scan

Notes

* Semi Rigid Open Cell