Large nonlinear optical response of polycrystalline Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 ferroelectric thin films on quartz substrates

We measure the nonlinear susceptibility of Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 (BLT) thin films grown on quartz substrates using the Z-scan technique with picosecond laser pulses at a wavelength of 532 run. The third-order nonlinear refractive index coefficient gamma and absorption coefficient beta of the BLT thin film are 3.1 x 10(-10) cm(2)/W and 3 x 10(-5) cm/W, respectively, which are much larger than those of most ferroelectric films. The results show that the BLT thin films on quartz substrates are good candidate materials for applications in nonlinear optical devices. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.X111815sciescopu