Nonlinear Optical Properties of B2O3-Based Glasses: M2O-B2O3(M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Ag) Binary Borate Glasses

The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities χ⁽³⁾ of M₂O-B₂O₃ (M = Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, and Ag) binary borate glasses have been measured by the third harmonic generation (THG) method. It is found that the enhancement of χ⁽³⁾by the structural change of BO₃ units to BO₄ units is small, while the enhancement of χ⁽³⁾ due to the formation of non- bridging oxygen is rather significant. The effects of alkali cations on the χ⁽³⁾ of alkali borate glasses are discussed in terms of the M-O bond character, focusing on the covalency of Li₂O-B₂O₃ glasses. Comparison of the χ⁽³⁾ values for Cs₂O-B₂O₃ and Ag₂O-B₂O₃ glasses which contain cations of comparable polarizability reveals that the χ⁽³⁾ value is much greater for Ag₂O-B₂O₃ glasses than for Cs₂O-B₂O₃glasses, which is possibly due to the great contribution of Ag(4 d_z2 + 5 s + 5 p_z ) hybrid orbitals to the nonlinear optical response.