We report a sensitive single-beam technique for measuring both the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficient for a wide variety of materials. We describe the experimental details and present a comprehensive theoretical analysis including cases where nonlinear refraction is accompanied by nonlinear absorption. In these experiments, the transmittance of a sample is measured ...

The pump-probe response of the metal cluster MoCu3Se4(PPh3)3/CH2Cl2 solution is similar to that of CBS, which implies a nonlinear scattering origin of its nonlinearity. To testify how much the nonlinear scattering contributes to the optical limiting process, we employ a method by inserting a light collection lens in a standard OL experimental setup. Results from such an experiment show that non...

The linear and nonlinear absorption properties of a squaraine-bridged porphyrin dimer (POR-SQU-POR) are investigated using femto-, pico-, and nanosecond pulses to understand intramolecular processes, obtain molecular optical parameters, and perform modeling of the excited-state dynamics. The optical behavior of POR-SQU-POR is compared with its separate porphyrin and squaraine constituent moieti...

The scattering of ultrasound from bubbles of ∼ 1 μm radius, such as used in contrast enhancers for ultrasound diagnostics, is studied. We show that sound scattering and “active” emission of sound from oscillating bubbles are not contradictory, but are just two different aspects derived from the same physics. Treating the bubble as a nonlinear oscillator, we arrive at general formulas for scatte...

The changes in the nonlinear refractive of Bradford reagent caused by its binding to bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated in aqueous solutions. The nonlinear refractive index at the wavelength of 514 nm was measured using Z-scan Technique. The presence of BSA shows an increase of the nonlinear refractive index coefficient over Bradford reagent alone. The nonlinear refractive index the B...

Solitons are nonlinear waves present in diverse physical systems including plasmas, water surfaces and optics. In silicon, the presence of two photon absorption and accompanying free carriers strongly perturb the canonical dynamics of optical solitons. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of soliton-effect pulse compression of picosecond pulses in silicon, despite two photon abso...

Single photons are of paramount importance to future quantum technologies, including quantum communication and computation. Nonlinear photonic devices using parametric processes offer a straightforward route to generating photons, however additional nonlinear processes may come into play and interfere with these sources. Here we analyse spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM) sources in the presenc...

An experimental investigation of the transmission of multimode capillary waveguides with a nonlinear absorber in the core shows an enhanced nonlinear absorption relative to the same length of bulk material. The results are consistent with partial mode filling within the cores of the waveguides. This study confirms the promising optical limiting capabilities of multimode nonlinear waveguides and...