Preparation, characterization and nonlinear optical properties of colloidal gallium arsenide nanocrystals

GaAs nanocrystals were prepared via a simple mechanical ball milling technique. The prepared GaAs nanocrystals have high purity and could form colloidal ethanol suspension without any surfactant additives. The colloidal GaAs nanocrystal suspension displayed excellent two-photon absorption property over the visible and near-infrared region from 490 nm to 1064 nm, which enables it to become a promising broadband optical limiting material.