Study of nonlinear optical absorption properties of Sb₂Se₃ nanoparticles in the nanosecond and femtosecond excitation regime

Abstract

In this work, we report for the first time, the nonlinear optical absorption properties of antimony selenide (Sb₂Se₃) nanoparticles synthesized through solvothermal route. X-ray diffraction results revealed the crystalline nature of the nanoparticles. Electron microscopy studies revealed that the nanoparticles are in the range of 10–40 nm. Elemental analysis was performed using EDAX. The nanosecond optical limiting effect was characterized by using fluence-dependent transmittance measurements with 15-ns laser pulses at 532 and 1064 nm excitation wavelengths. Mechanistically, effective two-photon (2PA) absorption and nonlinear scattering processes were the dominant nonlinear processes at both the wavelengths. At 800 nm excitation in the femtosecond regime (100 fs), the nonlinear optical absorption was found to be a three-photon (3PA) process. Both 2PA and 3PA processes were explained using the band structure and density of states of Sb₂Se₃ obtained using density functional theory. These nanoparticles exhibit strong intensity-dependent nonlinear optical absorption and hence could be considered to have optical power-limiting applications in the visible range.