Nonlinear Optical Properties Of Materials

This book is mostly concerned on the experimental research of the nonlinear optical characteristics of various media, low- and high-order harmonic generation in different materials, and formation, and nonlinear optical characterization of clusters. We also demonstrate the inter-connection between these areas of nonlinear optics. Nonlinear optical properties of media such as optical limiting can be applied in various areas of science and technology. To define suitable materials for these applications, one has to carefully analyse the nonlinear optical characteristics of various media, such as the nonlinear refractive indices, coefficients of nonlinear absorption, saturation absorption intensities, etc. Knowing the nonlinear optical parameters of materials is also important for describing the propagation effects, self-interaction of intense laser pulses, and optimisation of various nonlinear optical processes. Among those processes one can admit the importance of the studies of the frequency conversion of coherent laser sources. The area of interest for nonlinear optical characterization of materials is also closely related with new field of nanostructures formation and application during laser-matter interaction. We show how the nonlinear optical analysis of materials leads to improvement of their high-order nonlinear optical response during the interaction with strong laser fields. Ablation-induced nanoparticles formation is correlated with their applications as efficient sources of coherent short-wavelength photons. From other side, recent achievements of harmonic generation in plasmas are closely related with the knowledge of the properties of materials in the laser plumes. All of these studies are concerned with the low-order nonlinear optical features of various materials. The novelty of the approach developed in present book is related with inter-connection of those studies with each other.

In recent years, optical properties of the unique atomic and molecular structures of materials have drawn great scientific interest. Linear optical properties of materials such as metals, metal oxides, magnetic oxides, and organic materials are based on energy transfer and find applications in wastewater treatment, forensic science, biomedical science, photovoltaics, nuclear technology, and LED displays. Nonlinear optical properties of materials are based on the nonlinear medium and find more advanced applications in frequency mixing generations and optical parametric oscillations. This book presents the underlying principles, implementation, and applications of the linear and nonlinear optical properties of materials and has been divided into two parts emphasizing these properties. The first part of the book, Linear Optics, discusses bimetallic nanoparticles in dielectric media and their integration to dye molecules to detect trace amounts of heavy metals at the nanometer level, as well as to enhance luminescence and image contrasts in forensic inspection and biomedical diagnosis. It shows how the integration of bimetallic nanoparticles into a ZnO matrix promotes broadening of the absorption spectrum from the ultraviolet to the visible wavelength. It explains the role of surface adsorption and photocatalytic degradation in dye-removal kinetics by Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles under pulsed white light. It also discusses the double-layer shielding tank design to safely store radioactive waste and photon propagation through the multilayer structures of a human tissue model. The second part of the book, Nonlinear Optics, presents general concepts such as electromagnetic theory, nonlinear medium, and wave propagation, as well as more advanced concepts such as second harmonic generation, phase matching, optical parametric interactions, different frequency generation, sum frequency generation, tunable laser, and optical resonant oscillator.

This book assembles both theory and application in this field, to interest experimentalists and theoreticians alike. Part 1 is concerned with the theory and computing of non-linear optical (NLO) properties while Part 2 reviews the latest developments in experimentation. This book will be invaluable to researchers and students in academia and industry, particularlrly to anyone involved in materials science, theoretical and computational chemistry, chemical physics, and molecular physics.

Describing progress achieved in the field of nonlinear optics and nonlinear optical materials, the Handbook treats selected topics such as photorefractive materials, third-order nonlinear optical materials and organic nonlinear optical crystals, as well as electro-optic polymers. Applications of photorefractive materials in optical memories, optical processing, and guided-wave nonlinear optics in hotorefractive waveguides are described. As light will play a more and more dominant role as an information carrier, the review of existing and new materials given here makes this a keystone book in the field.

Organic Nonlinear Optical Materials provides an extensive description of the preparation and characterization of organic materials for applications in nonlinear and electro-optics. The book discusses the fundamental optimization and practical limitations of a number of figures of merit for various optical parameters and gives a clinical appraisal o

Nonlinear optics is a topic of much current interest that exhibits a great diversity. Some publications on the subject are clearly physics, while others reveal an engineering bias; some appear to be accessible to the chemist, while others may appeal to biological understanding. Yet all purport to be non linear optics so where is the underlying unity? The answer is that the unity lies in the phenomena and the devices that exploit them, while the diversity lies in the materials used to express the phenomena. This book is an attempt to show this unity in diversity by bringing together contributions covering an unusually wide range of materials, preceded by accounts of the main phenomena and important devices. Because ofthe diversity, individual materials are treated in separate chapters by different expert authors, while as editors we have shouldered the task of providing the unifying initial chapters. Most main classes of nonlinear optical solids are treated: semiconductors, glasses, ferroelectrics, molecular crystals, polymers, and Langmuir-Blodgett films. (However, liquid crystals are not covered. ) Each class of material is enough for a monograph in itself, and this book is designed to be an introduction suitable for graduate students and those in industry entering the area of nonlinear optics. It is also suitable in parts for final-year undergraduates on project work. It aims to provide a bridge between traditional fields of expertise and the broader field of nonlinear optics.

Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic Molecules and Crystals, Volume 1 discusses the nonlinear optical effects in organic molecules and crystals, providing a classical distinction between quadratic and cubic processes. This book begins with a general overview of the basic properties of organic matter, followed by a review on the benefits derived from quantum-chemistry-based models and growth and characterization of high quality, bulk organic crystals and waveguided structures. A case study focusing on a specific material, namely urea, which exemplifies a situation in which transparency in the UV region has been purposely traded for nonlinear efficiency is also deliberated. This text concludes with a description of a type of trade-off between the unpredictable orientation of molecules in crystalline media, polarity of liquid-crystalline structures, and dominant electronic contribution to the electro-optic effect. This publication is beneficial to solid-state physicists and chemists concerned with nonlinear optical properties of organic molecules and crystals.

Contemporary Nonlinear Optics discusses the different activities in the field of nonlinear optics. The book is comprised of 10 chapters. Chapter 1 presents a description of the field of nonlinear guided-wave optics. Chapter 2 surveys a new branch of nonlinear optics under the heading optical solitons. Chapter 3 reviews recent progress in the field of optical phase conjugation. Chapter 4 discusses ultrafast nonlinear optics, a field that is growing rapidly with the ability of generating and controlling femtosecond optical pulses. Chapter 5 examines a branch of nonlinear optics that may be termed nonlinear quantum optics. Chapter 6 reviews the new field of photorefractive adaptive neural networks. Chapter 7 presents a discussion of recent successes in the development of nonlinear optical media based on organic materials. Chapter 8 reviews the field of nonlinear optics in quantum confined structures. Chapter 9 reviews the field of nonlinear laser spectroscopy, with emphasis on advances made during the 1980s. Finally, Chapter 10 reviews the field of nonlinear optical dynamics by considering nonlinear optical systems that exhibit temporal, spatial, or spatio-temporal instabilities. This book is a valuable source for physicists and other scientists interested in optical systems and neural networks.