General theory for pulse propagation in two-photon active media

The propagation of laser pulses of different lengths in nonlinear media of organic absorbers is described starting out from a recently suggested dynamical theory for two-photon absorption (TPA) of molecules in solutions [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 19, 937 (2002)]. The roles of saturation effects and pulse duration on the suppression of TPA are emphasized. The numerical simulations of the pulse propagation are performed for a two-photon active charge transfer molecule using molecular parameters obtained from first principle calculations. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.