Third-order nonlinear optical properties of Mn doped ZnO thin films under cw laser illumination

We report the measurements of third-order nonlinear optical properties of undoped zinc oxide and manganese doped zinc oxide thin films with different doping concentrations investigated using z-scan technique. Thin films were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering using a compound target on glass substrate at room temperature. The structural properties of the deposited films were analysed by X-ray diffraction studies. The atomic force microscope analysis of the deposited films reveals that the grain size and roughness of the films depend on the Mn concentration. The direct energy band gap of the deposited film increases with the increase in Mn concentration in the films. The nonlinear optical measurements were carried out using a cw He–Ne laser at 633 nm wavelength. The z-scan results reveal that the films exhibit self-defocusing nonlinearity. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility χ(3) is found to be of the order of 10−3 esu. The films investigated here exhibit good optical power limiting at the experimental wavelength.

► The third-order nonlinear susceptibility obtained for MZO films is as large as 10−3 esu.
► The MZO films investigated is a possible candidate for the protection of sensors.
► Optical power limiting behaviour of MZO films is due to RSA.