10.1007/s11490-008-1007-0

Abstract

Solid-state dye-doped polymers are attractive alternatives to the conventional liquid-dye solutions. In this paper, the spectral characteristics and nonlinear properties of the dye Methyl violet 2B has been studied. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of Methyl violet 2B dye in ethanol and a dye-doped polymer film were measured by the Z-scan technique. This material exhibits a negative optical nonlinearity. The dye exhibited a nonlinear refractive coefficient (n 2 = −4.14 × 10−7 and −4.291 × 10−7 cm2/W in liquid and solid media, respectively), nonlinear absorption coefficient (β = −4.634 × 10−3 and −4.66 × 10−3 cm/W in liquid and solid media, respectively), and susceptibility (χ(3) = 1.88 × 10−5 and 1.963 × 10−5 esu in liquid and solid media, respectively). These results show that Methyl violet 2B dye has potential applications in nonlinear optics.