Nonlinear Optical Transmission of Lead Phthalocyanine-Doped Nematic Liquid Crystal Composites for Multiscale Nonlinear Switching From Nanosecond to Continuous Wave

Abstract

We have formulated composites of lead (II) tetrakis (4-cumylphenoxy) phthalocyanine (PbTCPc) doped into nematic liquid crystal (LC), 4'-pentyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5-CB), that has received a 90 deg twisted alignment and investigated the nonlinear transmission properties using both pulsed (Nd:YLF 524 nm, 5 ns) and cw (532 nm) lasers. In the nanosecond regime, this compound is a reverse saturable absorber performing similarly to low-concentration solutions of PbTCPc. Under cw conditions, we observe optically self-activated polarization switching with low threshold input energy. Our results suggest the potential for an all-optical switch working from the nanosecond time scale to cw.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 10, 2009
Accession Number
ADA510935

Entities

People

  • Brian Kimball
  • Chuanxiang Sheng
  • Diane Steeves
  • Jayan Thomas
  • Jiafu Wang
  • N. Peyghambarian
  • Robert A. Norwood

Organizations

  • University of Arizona

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption
  • Composite Materials
  • Continuous Waves
  • Detectors
  • Ground State
  • Lasers
  • Liquid Crystals
  • Load Monitoring
  • Materials
  • Microsecond Time
  • Military Research
  • Nanosecond Time
  • Nonlinear Optics
  • Optical Detectors
  • Optical Switching
  • Optics
  • Polarization

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Organic Chemistry

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy