Nonlinear absorption study of a C_60–toluene solution

Abstract

Nonlinear absorption at 532 nm in a C₆₀–toluene solution by using 8-ns and 30-ps laser pulses is reported. The transmittance for both pulse widths is fluence dependent. A five-level model of C₆₀ is described that yields excellent agreement with both pulse-width data sets for incident fluences as high as approximately 1 J/cm². Additional phenomena observed at higher fluences indicate that other mechanisms may be active and contribute to optical limiting in this regime. The application of C₆₀ as an optical limiter material is discussed.