Two-Photon Absorption in Polybenzidine

Polymers of Benzidine were synthesized by hydrogen peroxide reaction catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase enzyme. The polymerization reaction was carried out at room temperature in a monophasic organic solvent with a small amount of water at pH 7.5.The technique of degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) with nanosecond and picosecond pulses was employed to measure the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility χ. The samples were studied in solution in Dimethyl sulfoxide:Methanol in volume ratio 4:1. The observed values are of order 10−9 to 10−8esu. Measurements on a thin film agree approximately with the extrapolated values fron solution measurements. Picosecond time resolved measurements indicate a pulse-width limited response followed by a small slow component. Investigation of the total energy transmission as a function of the incident intensity and fluence at 532 nm for pico- and nanosecond pulses indicates reverse saturable absorption. As we observe the nanosecond and picosecond curves to be superimposed for the intensity plot but not for fluence, we conclude that the nonlinearity is predominantly due to two-photon absorption. Numerical analysis of the data yields a value of 12.25 cm/GW for the two-photon absorption coefficient β. The imaginary component of χ obtained is 5 × 10−9esu. The material appears to be a good candidate for applications in optical power limiting and switching.