NONLINEAR-OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF A NEW CHROMOPHORE

Strong two-photon-absorption (TPA) based nonlinear optical properties of a new chromophore, N, N-diphenyl-7-[2-(4-pyridinyl) ethenyl]-9,9-di -n-decyl-fluoren-2-amine (AF-50) has been experimentally studied. Unde r excitation with 10-Hz, similar to 8-ns, and similar to 800-nm laser pulses, the TPA cross section and the TPA-induced frequency-upconverte d emission spectra are measured for AF-50 solutions in various solvent s. The most attractive feature of this chromophore is its remarkably h igh value of the molecular TPA cross section (similar to 78 x 10(-20) cm(2)/GW in benzene solution). Based on this feature, superior optical power limiting and stabilization performance has been demonstrated in a 1-cm-long AF-50 solution sample with concentration of d(0) = 0.045 M/L. The nonlinear transmission of the measured sample decreased from similar to 0.93 to similar to 0.3 when the input-beam intensity increa sed from similar to 10 MW/cm(2) to similar to 360 MW/cm(2); the relati ve intensity fluctuation of the output laser pulses was reduced to one third of that of the input laser beam. (C) 1997 Optical Society of Am erica.