Abstract

Nonlinear optical materials are central to optical domain computing. A number of fast response time materials have emerged that have electronic nonlinear mechanisms in the picosecond and subpicosecond time scale. However, the small magnitude of the optical nonlinearity requires a high laser power density to utilize these materials. Flytzanis et al¹ have demonstrated theoretically and experimentally a processs of self-enhancement of the effective x⁽³⁾ from gold nanospheres. The electric field in the particle is increased at the plasmon resonance compared to the mean field in the suspension. This increased field in turn, enhances the intrinsic x⁽³⁾ of gold.

© 1988 Optical Society of America