Abstract

The availability of gram-scale quantities of fullerenes allows for the study the of the physical properties of these unique molecules. The large number of highly polarizable electrons associated with fullerene molecules make them potentially attractive as nonlinear optical materials. Structural studies indicate that fullerenes are bound together in the solid state by relatively weak van der Waals forces. An enhancement of the nonlinear optical response for excitation near the band edge, similar to that observed for semiconductor clusters in passive glass matrices, may occur due to the relative isolation of the individual fullerene molecules. Recent reports^1–3 indicate that C₆₀ has a relatively large third-order nonlinear optical response at wavelengths far from the band edge -- on the order of that observed for many highly conjugated organic polymers.

© 1992 Optical Society of America