Third-order nonlinear optical properties of bismuth-borate glasses measured by conventional and thermally managed eclipse Z scan

Abstract

Third-order nonlinearity one order of magnitude larger than silica is measured in bismuth-borate glasses presenting a fast response ͑Ͻ200 fs͒. The results for the sign and magnitude of the nonlinearity were obtained using a combination of the eclipse Z scan with thermal nonlinearity managed Z scan, whereas the Kerr shutter technique was employed to obtain the electronic time response of the nonlinearity, all performed with 76 MHz repetition rate 150 fs pulses at 800 nm. Conventional Z scans in the picosecond regime at 532 and 1064 nm were also independently performed, yielding the values of the third-order nonlinear susceptibilities at those wavelengths. The results obtained for the femtosecond response, enhanced third-order nonlinearity of this glass ͑with respect to silica͒, place this glass system as an important tool in the development of photonics devices. Electro-optical modulators, optical switches, and frequency converters are some of the applications using second-order nonlinear properties of the Bi-glass based on the rectification model.

The problem of achieving high second-order nonlinearities in glasses: The role of electronic conductivity in poling of high index glasses

“…The third-order nonlinearity of BZH2 had been measured at 1064 nm by Gomes et al and found to be 60 × 10 − 22 m 2 /V 2 that is 30 times higher than the χ (3) in silica glass [22]. The χ (3) of BZH7 and BZH4 is estimated from the refractive index using the Miller's rule [10] and found to be 33× 10 − 22 m 2 /V 2 and 16.5 × 10 − 22 m 2 /V 2 respectively.…”

“…[17] for the poling of BZH2, BZH7, BZH4 and BZH6 bulk glasses. L: sample thickness, t d : thickness of the depletion region, V: poling voltage, χ (3) of BZH2 was measured in [22]. χ (3) of BZH7, BZH4 and BZH6 estimated according to Miller's rule (see Section 3.1).…”

Femtosecond nonlinear optical properties of lead-germanium oxide amorphous films

“…19 The new technique was introduced recently for studies of liquids, solids, and biomaterials. 7,17 TM-EZ scan technique presents the sensitivity of eclipse Z scan and gives the simultaneous measurements of the nonthermal and thermal nonlinearities of the material under study. The use of lasers with high repetition rate allows measurements with large sensitivity and better signal-to-noise figure.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] In particular, compositions of HMO glasses containing lead and/or bismuth are strong candidates and have been studied in the past few years. [6][7][8][9][10] Recent measurements with bismuth oxide based glasses from the femtosecond to the nanosecond regime 6,7 demonstrated that the presence of heavy-metal atoms is very important to enhance the nonlinearity. Previous studies using pulses of 35 and 100 fs at wavelengths in the range of 600-1250 nm also revealed increasing of the HMO glasses nonlinearity with the increase of heavy-metal content.…”

Nonlinear optical properties in bismuth-based glasses

“…As we known, addition of heavy metal oxides can enhance third-order nonlinearity. As a heavy metal ion, W 6＋ with empty d orbital can form groups with O 2-that have large polarizability in glass network, which leads to the increase of nonlinear refraction γ. Consequently, the sample glass BBW6 with the highest WO 3 content gets a maximal value of γ, namely 1.173×10 -14 cm 2 /W, which is larger than that of Bi 2 O 3 -B 2 O 3 -ZnO [21] . …”