Optical nonlinearity of Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles studied by Z-scan technique

The third-order optical nonlinear susceptibilities of Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles coated by a layer of stearic acid in toluene sol and bare in hydrosol were measured by the Z-scan technique. The nonlinear susceptibility of the coated Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles was found to be two orders of magnitude greater than that of the bulk Bi₂O₃. For the coated Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles, the figures of merit related to linear loss and two-photon absorption were determined. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.