Accurate determination of nonlinear optical properties of cadmium magnesium telluride

Date of Award

2015

Degree Name

M.S. in Electro-Optics

Department

Department of Electro-Optics and Photonics

Advisor/Chair

Advisor: Shekhar Guha

Abstract

Nonlinear absorption is a phenomenon in which the transmission of light through a sample is dependent upon the intensity of the incident light, caused by the process of two photon and carrier absorption. At low intensities the material will be transparent, but at high intensities the material will be opaque. Nonlinear refraction is a phenomenon by which the index of refraction of a material is dependent upon the incident intensity of the light. This leads to an effect known as self focusing, by which intense light creates a refractive gradient that focuses or defocuses the beam according to the transverse spatial distribution of the laser focus. These two properties are important in the development of optical switches. This work will measure these nonlinear properties for the material Cadmium Magnesium Telluride. Special attention is given to the relation of these properties to the bandgap of the compound, which is dependent upon the concentration of magnesium dopant. The data was collected using the Irradiance Scan technique in both the nanosecond and picosecond regimes, and the data was analysed using a four objective iterative approach involving both first order analytical approximations and a full numerical nonlinear propagation analysis.

Keywords

Semiconductors Properties, Magnesium Properties, Nonlinear optics Materials, Optics, Physics, Materials Science, CdMgTe, Cadmium Magnesium Telluride, 2PA, Two Photon Absorption, Nonlinear Optics, Nonlinear Refraction, Nonlinear Absorption, Z-Scan, I-Scan, Intensity Scan

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2015, author

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS