Nonlinear optical studies of 1-3-diaryl-propenones containing 4-methylthiophenyl moieties

Abstract

The third-order nonlinear optical properties of chalcone derivatives have been studied using the single beam Z-scan technique. The dependence of ?(3) on different donor and acceptor type substituents demonstrates the electronic nonlinearity of compounds. The largest value of nonlinear refractive index, n<inf>2</inf>, measured for a high electron donor substituted molecule is -2.033 × 10-11 esu. These molecules exhibit a strong two-photon absorption and interesting optical limiting of nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.