Nonlinear characteristic and optical limiting effect of oil red O azo dye in liquid and solid media

In view of a possible application in optical limiting devices for protection against laser radiation, the nonlinear optical absorption, refraction and optical limiting behavior of an organic dye, oil red O, under excitation with CW, Nd: YAG laser at 532 nm was studied. The nonlinear optical responses of the dye were studied both in solution (acetonitrile) and solid film, (methylmethacrylate [MMA]) respectively, using the single-beam Z-scan technique. The open aperture Z-scan of the solution and solid samples displayed reversible saturable absorption. The closed aperture Z-scan of the samples exhibited negative nonlinearity, which was larger in magnitude in the solid film compared to that in solution. The nonlinear refractive index was found to vary with concentration. Optical limiting characteristics of the dye at various concentrations were studied. The third-order nonlinearity of this dye is dominated by nonlinear absorption, which leads to strong optical limiting of the laser.