Nonlinear optical properties of laser deposited CuO thin films

In this work we investigate the third-order optical nonlinearities in CuO films by Z-scan method using a femtosecond laser (800 nm, 50 fs, 200 Hz). Single-phase CuO thin films have been obtained using pulsed laser deposition technique. The structure properties, surface image, optical transmittance and reflectance of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and UV–vis spectroscopy. The Z-scan results show that laser-deposited CuO films exhibit large nonlinear refractive coefficient, n2 = − 3.96 × 10− 17 m2/W, and nonlinear absorption coefficient, β = − 1.69 × 10− 10 m/W, respectively.