Abstract

Organic dyes embedded in polymer matrix form an important class of optical materials. They have been of interest because of their possibility of generating phase conjugated waves by DFWM using cw lasers and their use as optical memories in optical computing. Our aim is to study these recording media using pulse laser radiation and find large nonlinear susceptibilities associated with fast response time. We report picosecond phase conjugation of 532nm laser radiation by DFWM in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films doped with rhodamine 6G. The temporal behavior of the nonlinearity is investigated and our results indicate a fast response time (<30 ps). We have also studied the influence of the dye concentration within the polymer matrix and the influence of pump intensity on the phase conjugated signal.

© 1989 Optical Society of America