Considerations about Z-scan sensitivity improvement: theory versus experiments

T. Godin (1) , Michael Fromager (1) , B. Päivänranta (2) , Nicolas Passilly (2) , G. Boudebs (3) , Emmanuel Cagniot (1) , Kamel Aït Ameur (1)

1 CIMAP - UMR 6252 - Centre de recherche sur les Ions, les MAtériaux et la Photonique
2 Department of Physics and Mathematics
3 POMA - Propriétés Optiques des Matériaux et Applications

This paper reports an experimental demonstration of the improvement of the Z-scan technique's sensitivity. It is shown that this sensitivity can be multiplied by a factor equal to almost 400 with the help of simple binary diffractive elements. Such a possibility was actually predicted theoretically in one of our previous papers. In this study, the interpretation is investigated in a wider context taking into account the definition of the signal normalisation as introduced by Z-scan and the well-known eclipsing Z-scan (EZ-scan) experiments. In particular, advantages and drawbacks are compared, by looking at the normalised or the unnormalised aperture transmission.

Keywords: Electromagnetism; Optics and Lasers

Domains: Physics [physics]; Physics [physics]; Optics [physics.optics]

T. Godin, Michael Fromager, B. Päivänranta, Nicolas Passilly, G. Boudebs, et al.. Considerations about Z-scan sensitivity improvement: theory versus experiments. Applied Physics B - Laser and Optics, 2009, 95 (3), pp.579-587. ⟨10.1007/s00340-009-3459-2⟩. ⟨cea-00407924⟩