Optical power limiting properties of organic crystals and nanocrystals in an f/5 optical system

We have evaluated the optical limiting properties of transparent organic cr ystals and nanocrystals in an f/5 optical system. We have studied three org anic or organic-inorganic crystals and a sol-gel glass which contains organ ic nanocrystals of stilbene3. The spectral dependence of the optical limiti ng curves have shown that broadband limitation can be achieved in the visib le range with the 2-amino-5-nitropyridinium-dihydrogenphosphate (2A5NPDP) c rystal as the transmitted energy is less than 10 mu J over a wide spectral range (450-600 nm). Results on nanocrystals have indicated that these new m aterials are a suitable alternative to crystals due to their isotropic resp onse with polarization. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.