Spectral and nonlinear studies of night blue dye

Solid-state dye-doped polymer is an attractive alternative to the conventional liquid dye solution. In this Letter the spectral characteristics and the nonlinear optical properties of the dye night blue are studied. The spectral characteristics of night blue dye doped poly(methylmethacrylate) modified with additive n-butyl acetate (nBA) are studied by recording its absorption and fluorescence spectra and the results are compared with the corresponding liquid mixture. The nonlinear refractive index of the dye in nBA and dye doped polymer film were measured using z-scan technique [S.-B., Mansoor, A.A. Said, T.-H. Wei, D.J. Hagan, E.W. Van Stryland, IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 26 (1990) 760], by exciting with He–Ne laser. The results obtained are intercompared. Both the samples of dye night blue show a negative nonlinear refractive index. The origin of optical nonlinearity in the dye may be attributed due to laser-heating induced nonlinear effect.