Third-order nonlinear optical properties of the poly(methyl methacrylate)-phenothiazinium dye hybrid thin films

The third-order nonlinear optical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) films doped with charge flowable 3,7-di(piperidinyl)phenothiazin-5-ium chloride, which tested by Z-scan method with nanosecond laser beam at 532 nm, are reported. Large third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities (up to 10 ^{- 7} esu) and high second hyperpolarizabilities (up to 10 ^{- 27} esu) are found. The third-order nonlinear absorptions change from reverse saturated absorptions to saturated absorptions with different percentage of the phenothiazinium dye in the poly(methyl methacrylate) films, which can be explained by the accumulation phenomenon of the phenothiazinium. The results suggest that the phenothiazinium salt is a promising material for third order non-linear applications.