Study on the third-order nonlinear optical properties of four dmit complexes by Z-scan technique

Four novel dmit complexes: [(C2H5)4N][Ni (dmit)2], [(C3H7)4N][Ni(dmit)2], [(C2H5)4N][Au(dmit)2] and [(C3H7)4N][Au(dmit)2], abbreviated as EtNi, PrNi, EtAu, and PrAu, were synthesized. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of them in acetonitrile solutions were investigated by using the Z-scan technique with 20 ps pulses width at 1064 nm. When the on-axis irradiance at focus I0 was 5.025 GW/cm2, the nonlinear refraction coefficient n2, the third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ(3), the molecular second-order hyperpolarizability γ of the four types of material were obtained with subject to Z-scan curves, and these indexes were with the magnitudes of 10−18 m2/W, 10−13 esu, and 10−31 esu, respectively. The nonlinear absorption coefficient β of Ni samples had the 10−12 m/W scale. The impact of different metals and cations on the third-order nonlinear optical properties of materials was analyzed. Through the derivation, the result suggests that these dmit complexes are promising candidates for applications to nonlinear optical devices manufacture in the near-infrared waveband.