Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling
The feasibility of introducing optical nonlinearity in poly-dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) using organic solvent swelling was investigated. The third-order nonlinear refraction and absorption properties of the individual materials, as well as the PDMS/solvent compounds after swelling were characterized. T...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Optics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3269/5/1/5 |
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| author | Sudhakara Reddy Bongu Maximilian Buchmüller Daniel Neumaier Patrick Görrn |
| author_facet | Sudhakara Reddy Bongu Maximilian Buchmüller Daniel Neumaier Patrick Görrn |
| author_sort | Sudhakara Reddy Bongu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The feasibility of introducing optical nonlinearity in poly-dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) using organic solvent swelling was investigated. The third-order nonlinear refraction and absorption properties of the individual materials, as well as the PDMS/solvent compounds after swelling were characterized. The well-established Z-scan technique served as characterization method for the nonlinear properties under picosecond pulsed laser excitation at a 532 nm wavelength. These experiments included investigations on the organic solvents nitrobenzene, 2,6-lutidine, and toluene, which showed inherent optical nonlinearity. We showed that nitrobenzene, one of the most well-known nonlinear optical materials, has proven suboptimal in this context due to its limited swelling effect in PDMS and comparatively high (non)linear absorption, resulting in undesirable thermal effects and potential photo-induced damage in the composite material. Toluene and 2,6-lutidine not only exhibited lower absorption compared to nitrobenzene but also show a more pronounced swelling effect in PDMS. The incorporation of toluene caused a weight change of up to 116% of PDMS, resulting in substantial nonlinear optical effects, reflected in the nonlinear refractive index of the PDMS/toluene composite <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mn>3.1</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>15</mn></mrow></msup><mtext> </mtext><mrow><mrow><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow><mo>/</mo><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">W</mi></mrow></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:56:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3107a21628242dd95b83960cb4cc119 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-3269 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:56:42Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Optics |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3107a21628242dd95b83960cb4cc1192024-03-27T13:58:32ZengMDPI AGOptics2673-32692024-02-0151667510.3390/opt5010005Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent SwellingSudhakara Reddy Bongu0Maximilian Buchmüller1Daniel Neumaier2Patrick Görrn3Chair of Large Area Optoelectronics, University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal, GermanyChair of Large Area Optoelectronics, University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal, GermanyWuppertal Center for Smart Materials and Systems, University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal, GermanyChair of Large Area Optoelectronics, University of Wuppertal, Rainer-Gruenter-Str. 21, 42119 Wuppertal, GermanyThe feasibility of introducing optical nonlinearity in poly-dimethyl siloxane (PDMS) using organic solvent swelling was investigated. The third-order nonlinear refraction and absorption properties of the individual materials, as well as the PDMS/solvent compounds after swelling were characterized. The well-established Z-scan technique served as characterization method for the nonlinear properties under picosecond pulsed laser excitation at a 532 nm wavelength. These experiments included investigations on the organic solvents nitrobenzene, 2,6-lutidine, and toluene, which showed inherent optical nonlinearity. We showed that nitrobenzene, one of the most well-known nonlinear optical materials, has proven suboptimal in this context due to its limited swelling effect in PDMS and comparatively high (non)linear absorption, resulting in undesirable thermal effects and potential photo-induced damage in the composite material. Toluene and 2,6-lutidine not only exhibited lower absorption compared to nitrobenzene but also show a more pronounced swelling effect in PDMS. The incorporation of toluene caused a weight change of up to 116% of PDMS, resulting in substantial nonlinear optical effects, reflected in the nonlinear refractive index of the PDMS/toluene composite <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mrow><mi>n</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msub><mo>=</mo><mn>3.1</mn><mo>×</mo><msup><mrow><mn>10</mn></mrow><mrow><mo>−</mo><mn>15</mn></mrow></msup><mtext> </mtext><mrow><mrow><msup><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">c</mi><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></mrow><mrow><mn>2</mn></mrow></msup></mrow><mo>/</mo><mrow><mi mathvariant="normal">W</mi></mrow></mrow></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3269/5/1/5transparent Kerr materialsself-focusingpoly-dimethyl siloxaneswellingnonlinear solvents |
| spellingShingle | Sudhakara Reddy Bongu Maximilian Buchmüller Daniel Neumaier Patrick Görrn Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling Optics transparent Kerr materials self-focusing poly-dimethyl siloxane swelling nonlinear solvents |
| title | Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling |
| title_full | Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling |
| title_fullStr | Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling |
| title_full_unstemmed | Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling |
| title_short | Introducing Optical Nonlinearity in PDMS Using Organic Solvent Swelling |
| title_sort | introducing optical nonlinearity in pdms using organic solvent swelling |
| topic | transparent Kerr materials self-focusing poly-dimethyl siloxane swelling nonlinear solvents |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3269/5/1/5 |
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