Variation of Two-Photon Absorption Cross Sections and Optical Limiting of Compounds Induced by Static Electric Field

By numerically solving the Maxwell-Bloch equations using an iterative predictor-corrector finite-difference time-domain technique, we investigate propagating properties of a few-cycle laser pulse in a 4,4′-bis(di-n-butylamino) stilbene (BDBAS) molecular medium when a static electric field exists. Dynamical two-photon absorption (TPA) cross sections are obtained and optical limiting (OL) behavior is displayed. The results show that when the static electric field intensity increases, the dynamical TPA cross section is enhanced and the OL behavior is improved. Moreover, both even- and odd-order harmonic spectral components are generated with existence of the static electric field because it breaks the inversion symmetry of the BDBAS molecule. This work provides a method to modulate the nonlinear optical properties of the BDBAS compounds.