Abstract

A new variation of the transmission Z-scan method¹ for the characterization of optical materials is described. Experimental and theoretical results are given to the modifications of the spatial intensity distribution suffered by a Gaussian beam reflected from a highly absorbing material. As in the transmission Z-scan technique, the spatial profile modification of the reflected beam is monitored through an aperture placed in the far-field region. Thus, the phase distortion produced in the reflected beam is transformed to amplitude distortion which is detected by a photodiode. Two immediate advantages of this reflection Z-scan (RZ-scan) technique are its ability to obtain information arising from surface effects and to study highly absorbing media.

© 1994 IEEE