Photorefractive self-focusing and defocusing as an optical limiter

Focusing and defocusing of laser light has been observed for many years. Kerr type materials exhibit this effect but only for high intensities. We show experimental evidence that photorefractive materials can also produce dramatic focusing and defocusing. Whereas Kerr materials produce this effect for high intensities, photorefractive materials produce these effects independent of intensity indicating that this effect would be ideal for an optical limiter. We compare the characteristics of Kerr and photorefractive materials, discuss the physical models for both materials and present experimental evidence for photorefractive defocusing. Self-focusing and defocusing was observed for any incident polarization although the effect was more pronounced using extraordinary polarized light. In addition, self-focusing or defocusing could be observed depending on the direction of the applied electric field. When the applied field was in the same direction as the crystal spontaneous polarization, focusing was observed. When the applied field was opposite the material spontaneous polarization, the incident laser light was dramatically defocused

Ultrashort Laser Pulse Heating of Nanoparticles: Comparison of Theoretical Approaches

The interaction between nanoparticles and ultrashort laser pulses holds great interest in laser nanomedicine, introducing such possibilities as selective cell targeting to create highly localized cell damage. Two models are studied to describe the laser pulse interaction with nanoparticles in the femtosecond, picosecond, and nanosecond regimes. The first is a two-temperature model using two coupled diffusion equations: one describing the heat conduction of electrons, and the other that of the lattice. The second model is a one-temperature model utilizing a heat diffusion equation for the phonon subsystem and applying a uniform heating approximation throughout the particle volume. A comparison of the two modeling strategies shows that the two-temperature model gives a good approximation for the femtosecond mode, but fails to accurately describe the laser heating for longer pulses. On the contrary, the simpler one-temperature model provides an adequate description of the laser heating of nanoparticles in the femtosecond, picosecond, and nanosecond modes

Photorefractive dark solitons as waveguides

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