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.
This volume brings together contributions from world renowned researchers on molecular nonlinear optics. It takes as its impetus work done over the last five years in which newly developed optoelectronic devices havedeepened our understanding of the fundamental physics and chemistry underlying these materials. Organic materials involving thin films, polymers, and resulting devices will be emphasized.
The book is designed to serve as a textbook for courses offered to upper-undergraduate students enrolled in physics. The first edition of this book was published in 2014. As there is a demand for the next edition, it is quite natural to take note of the several advances that have occurred in the subject over the past five years and to decide which of these are appropriate for inclusion at the textbook level, given the fundamental nature and the significance of the subject area. This is the prime motivation for bringing out a revised second edition. Among the newer mechanisms and materials, the book introduces the super-continuum generation, which arises from an excellent interplay of the various mechanisms of optical nonlinearity. The topics covered in this book are quantum mechanics of nonlinear interaction of matter and radiation, formalism and phenomenology of nonlinear wave mixing processes, optical phase conjugation and applications, self-focusing and self-phase modulation and their role in pulse modification, nonlinear absorption mechanisms, and optical limiting applications, photonic switching and bi-stability, and physical mechanisms leading to a nonlinear response in a variety of materials. This book has emerged from an attempt to address the requirement of presenting the subject at the college level. This textbook includes rigorous features such as the elucidation of relevant basic principles of physics; a clear exposition of the ideas involved at an appropriate level; coverage of the physical mechanisms of non-linearity; updates on physical mechanisms and emerging photonic materials and emphasis on the experimental study of nonlinear interactions. The detailed coverage and pedagogical tools make this an ideal textbook for students and researchers enrolled in physics and related courses.
Mathematical methods play a significant role in the rapidly growing field of nonlinear optical materials. This volume discusses a number of successful or promising contributions. The overall theme of this volume is twofold: (1) the challenges faced in computing and optimizing nonlinear optical material properties; and (2) the exploitation of these properties in important areas of application. These include the design of optical amplifiers and lasers, as well as novel optical switches. Research topics in this volume include how to exploit the magnetooptic effect, how to work with the nonlinear optical response of materials, how to predict laser-induced breakdown in efficient optical devices, and how to handle electron cloud distortion in femtosecond processes.
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.
Photonics is being labelled by many as the technology for the 21st century. Because of the structural flexibility both at the molecular and bulk levels, organic materials are emerging as a very important class of nonlinear optical materials to be used for generating necessary nonlinear optical functions for the technology of photonics. Since the last NATO advanced research workshop on "Polymers for Nonlinear Optics"held in June 1988, at Nice - Sophia Antipolis, France. there has been a tremendous growth of interest worldwide and important development in this field. Significant progress has been made in theoretical modeling, material development, experimental studies and device concepts utilizing organic materials. These important recent developments provided the rationale for organizing the workshop on "Organic Materials for Nonlinear Optics and Photonics" which was held in La Rochelle, France, in August 1990. This proceeding is the outcome of the workshop held in La Rochelle. The objective of the workshop was to bring together scientists and engineers of varied backgrounds working in this field in order to assess the current status of this field by presenting significant recent developments and make recommendations on future directions of research. The workshop was multidisciplinary as it had contributions from chemists, physicists, materials scientists and device engineers. The participants were both from industries and universities. The workshop included plenary lectures by leading international scientists in this field, contributed research papers and a poster session. Panel discussion groups were organized to summarize important developments and to project future directions.
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.
Clear, integrated coverage of all aspects of nonlinear optics—phenomena, materials, and devices Coauthored by George Stegeman, one of the most highly respected pioneers of nonlinear optics—with contributions on applications from Robert Stegeman—this book covers nonlinear optics from a combined physics, optics, materials science, and devices perspective. It offers a thoroughly balanced treatment of concepts, nonlinear materials, practical aspects of nonlinear devices, and current application areas. Beginning with the presentation of a simple electron on a spring model—to help readers make the leap from concepts to applications—Nonlinear Optics gives comprehensive explanations of second-order phenomena, derivation of nonlinear susceptibilities, third-order nonlinear effects, multi-wave mixing, scattering, and more. Coverage includes: Nonlinear response of materials at the molecular level Second-order nonlinear devices, their optimization and limitations The physical origins of second- and third-order nonlinearities Typical frequency dispersion of nonlinearities, explained in terms of simple two- and three-level models Ultrafast and ultrahigh intensity processes Practice problems demonstrating the design of such nonlinear devices as frequency doublers and optical oscillators Based on more than twenty years of lectures at the College of Optics and Photonics (CREOL) at the University of Central Florida, Nonlinear Optics introduces all topics from the ground up, making the material easily accessible not only for physicists, but also for chemists and materials scientists, as well as professionals in diverse areas of optics, from laser physics to electrical engineering.
Nonlinear optical materials play a pivotal role in the future evolution of nonlinear optics in general and its impact in technology and industrial applications in particular. The progress in nonlinear optics has been tremendous since the first demonstration of an all-optical nonlinear effect in the early sixties, but until recently the main visible emphasis was on the physical aspects of the nonlinear radiation matter interaction. In the last decade, however, this effort has also brought its fruits in applied aspects of nonlinear optics. This can be essentially traced to the improvement of the performances of the nonlinear optical materials. Our understanding of the nonlinear polarization mechanisms and their relation to the structural characteristics of the materials has been considerably improved. In addition, the new development of techniques for the fabrication and growth of artificial materials has dramatically contributed to this evolution. The goal is to find and develop materials presenting large nonlinearities and satisfying at the same time all the technological requirements for applications such as wide transparency range, fast response, high damage threshold but also processability, adaptability and interfacing with other materials. Improvements, besides rendering possible the implementation of nonlinear effects in devices, open the way to the study of new nonlinear optical effects and the introduction of new concepts. This book describes new concepts which are emerging in the field of nonlinear optical materials, concentrating the attention on materials which seem more promising for applications in the technology of information transmission and processing.
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 of the potential of organic materials for applicators in optical technology. Among the topics addressed are the basic molecular design of ;nonlinear optical chromophores, fundamentals and novel techniques of organic crystal growth, preparation and characterization of Langmuir-Blodgett and polymer films, experimental methods for determining microscopic and macroscopic optical properties. Also included is a discussion of first results of the photorefractive effect in organic crystals and the potential of organics for photorefractive applications, as well as an extensive review of published linear and nonlinear optical measurement of organic materials.
