Abstract

We report experimental results for the third-order nonlinear properties of thin polymer films doped with azo dyes, which have long-lived triplet states and can undergo reversible photochromic reactions. Cast films of Disperse Red 1 and Methyl Red in polystyrene and polymethyl methacrylate were investigated by degenerate four-wave mixing with a low-power cw mode-locked laser. Polarization properties and the time dependence of the laser-induced gratings were investigated, and results were compared with those obtained for liquid solutions of the dye in the respective monomers. A phase-conjugate reflectivity of 1% was observed for Disperse Red 1 in polystyrene, with no long-term degradation under laser irradiation.

© 1991 Optical Society of America

Degenerate four-wave mixing in organic azo dyes chrysoidin and benzopurpurin 4B

Sylvain Mailhot, Pierre Galarneau, Roger A. Lessard, and Marguerite-Marie Denariez-Roberge
Appl. Opt. 27(16) 3418-3421 (1988)

Power transfer by nearly degenerate two-wave mixing in a saturable dye-doped film

Hirofumi Fujiwara, Koji Shio, and Shigeki Miyanaga
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 8(8) 1740-1746 (1991)

Optically induced anisotropy of third-order susceptibility in azo-dye polymers

Victor M. Churikov and Chia-Chen Hsu
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 18(11) 1722-1731 (2001)

Optical orientation of azo dye in polymer films at high pressure

Zouheir Sekkat, Gerd Kleideiter, and Wolfgang Knoll
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 18(12) 1854-1857 (2001)

Transient phase conjugation by degenerate four-wave mixing in saturable dyes

H. Fujiwara and K. Nakagawa
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 4(2) 121-128 (1987)