Studies on third-order nonlinear optical properties of chalcone derivatives in polymer host

In this paper we present the experimental study of the third-order nonlinear optical properties of two chalcone derivatives, viz., 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(4-butyloxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one and 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(4-propyloxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one in PMMA host, with the prospective of reaching a compromise between good processability and high nonlinear optical properties. The nonlinear optical properties have been investigated by Z-scan technique using 7 ns laser pulses at 532 nm. The nonlinear refractive index, nonlinear absorption coefficient, magnitude of third-order susceptibility and the coupling factor have been determined. The values obtained are of the order of 10−14 cm2/W, 1 cm/GW, 10−13 esu and 0.2, respectively. The molecular second hyperpolarizability for the chalcone derivatives in polymer is of the order of 10−31 esu. Different guest/host concentrations have also been studied. The results suggest that the nonlinear properties of the chalcones have been improved when they are used as dopants in polymer matrix. The nonlinear parameters obtained are comparable with the reported values of II–VI compound semiconductors. Hence, these chalcons are a promising class of nonlinear optical dopant materials for optical device applications.