Third order nonlinear optical characterization of new chalcohalogenide glasses containing lead iodine

Abstract The vitreous formation in a new chalcohalogenide system based on As, Sb, Bi, S, Pb and I has been studied. Wide vitreous regions have been identified both in the ternary As 2 S 3 –Sb 2 S 3 –PbI 2 system and in the quaternary As 2 S 3 –Sb 2 S 3 –Bi 2 S 3 –PbI 2 system. More particularly, in the latter case, the vitreous regions have been investigated and established for the two layers of the system corresponding respectively to 10% and 20% molar of Bi 2 S 3 . Due to the richness of these new glasses in highly polarizable elements, they are of interest for the implementation of high nonlinear optical properties. To explore the potentialities of chalcogenide glasses for ultra-fast optical applications, the nonlinear refractive indices (real and imaginary part) of different compositions are measured. Nonlinear measurements have been performed through a pump/probe experiment using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer coupled to a CCD camera. The measured values are as high as 16×10 −18 m 2 /W for the nonlinear refractive index and 6 cm/GW for the nonlinear absorption.