Z-scan measurements of the third-order optical nonlinearities and vibrational spectral studies by DFT computations on azo dye 1-(2-Methylphenylazo)-2-napthol

Abstract

The nonlinear optical properties of azo dye 1-(2-Methylphenylazo)-2-napthol have been studied. The complete vibrational features and electronic absorption spectra of the title compound were analyzed by FT-IR, FT-Raman and UV–visible spectra combined with density functional theory and time-dependent density functional computations respectively. Nonlinear optical behavior was investigated by calculating the second-order hyperpolarizablity at DFT level. Third-order nonlinear optical parameters of 1-(2-Methylphenylazo)-2-napthol were measured using closed and open aperture Z-scan technique. The Z-scan result confirms, the dye exhibit self-focusing effect and the sign of the refractive nonlinearity is positive. The nonlinear refractive index (n2), nonlinear absorption coefficient (β), real and imaginary parts of third-order susceptibility (χ (3)) and second-order hyperpolarizability (γ) are calculated. The calculated results indicated that 1-(2-Methylphenylazo)-2-napthol have potential applications in optoelectronics and photonics.