Abstract

The results of several recent reports^1-3 have shown that metal-substituted phthalocyanines (Pc) are promising nonlinear optical materials. In particular, experiments^2,3 at 532 nm have demonstrated that the metal-substituted Pc's have promise for use in optical limiting devices. The mechanism for these materials is reverse saturable absorption, in which transmission decreases with increasing intensity because the absorption cross section of the excited state is larger than that of the ground state. For this paper we have investigated the photophysics behind the resonant third-order response of several lead phthalocyanines and naphthalocyanines.

© 1994 Optical Society of America