Large third-order optical nonlinearity of nanocluster-doped glass formed by ion implantation of copper and nickel in silica

Composite glasses containing different metal nanoclusters were obtained by implanting copper, nickel, or copper+nickel ions in SiO2 glass. The nonlinear refractive index of the composites was determined by the Z-scan method at a wavelength of 770 nm and with a laser pulse duration of 130 fs. Values of n(2) up to 0.68 cm(2) gW(-1) were measured in the case of the Cu+Ni implanted sample. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.