Large and extremely fast third-order non-linearity of Ag nanoparticles embedded into a CsxO semiconductor matrix

The third-order optical nonlinearity of Ag-O-Cs thin films, where Ag nanoparticles are embedded into a CsxO semiconductor matrix, was measured by the femtosecond optical Kerr technique. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, chi ((3)), of the thin films was estimated to be 1.1x10(-9) esu at the incident wavelength of 820 nm. The response time, i.e. the full width at half-maximum of the Kerr signal, is as fast as 114 fs only. The intrinsic third-order optical nonlinearity can be attributed to the intraband transition of electrons from the occupied state near the Fermi level to the unoccupied state. It is suggested that such a nonlinearity is further enhanced by the local field effect that is present in the metallic nanoparticles composite thin films.Physics, MultidisciplinarySCI(E)CPCI-S(ISTP)