Optical nonlinearities in microstructures produced by two-photon polymerization

Abstract

This project aims to investigate the nonlinear optical properties of polymeric microstructures. Initially we will produce microstructures doped with nonlinear organic compounds (azoaromatic compounds and perylenes) by means of two-photon polymerization. The microstructures nonlinear optical properties will be studied through the Dispersive Scan (D-scan) technique, in which the third order nonlinearity of a medium is determined through the spectral changes of a femtosecond pulse as it propagates along a sample, as a function of the dispersion introduced by a dispersive line. The experimental setup required to perform D-scan measurements will be implemented during this project. Furthermore, metallic nanoparticles (gold and silver) will be added to the polymeric matrix in order to study their interaction with the organic compounds in the produced microstructures. Therefore, the development of this project will allow the study of nonlinear optical properties of polymeric microstructures doped with organic compounds and metallic nanoparticles, aiming their application to on-chip photonic devices.