Effect of Heat-treatment on Crystalline Phase and UV Absorption of 60CeO_2-40TiO_2 Thin Films by Magnetron Sputtering

60CeO2-40TiO2 thin films were deposited on soda-lime silicate glass substrates by R.F. magnetron sputtering. The effects of heat-treatment on the UV-absorption of the thin films were studied on the 60CeO2-40TiO2 thin film with the largest UV cut-off wavelength. The sample films with CeO2：TiO2=60：40 were heated at 773 K, 873 K, 973 K for 30 min. These films are characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectrometer （XPS）. XRD analysis proves that the addition of TiO2 to CeO2 changed the crystalline state of CeO2. But the UV absorption effect of CeO2-TiO2 films with CeO2 crystallite phase is inferior to that of the amorphous phase CeO2-TiO2 films. XPS analysis also indicates that the amorphous phase CeO2-TiO2 films have the most Ce3＋ content in these films. Amorphous phase and crystalline phase of the CeO2-TiO2 films have different effects on UV absorption of the thin films.

Direct detection of the transient superresolution effect of nonlinear saturation absorption thin films

Using a strong nonlinear saturation absorption effect is one technique for breaking through the diffraction limit. In this technique, formation of a dynamic and reversible optical pinhole channel and transient superresolution is critical. In this work, a pump–probe transient detection and observation–experimental setup is constructed to explore the formation process directly. A Ge2Sb2Te5 thin film with strong nonlinear saturation absorption is investigated. The dynamic evolution of the optical pinhole channel is detected and imaged, and the transient superresolution spot is directly captured experimentally. Results verify that the superresolution effect originates from the generation of an optical pinhole channel and that the formation of the optical pinhole channel is dynamic and reversible. A good method is provided for direct detection and observation of the transient process of the superresolution effect of nonlinear thin films.

Nonlinear and saturable absorption properties of PbS nanocrystalline thin films

The structural,morphological,optical,and nonlinear optical properties of a lead sulfde(PbS) thin film grown by chemical bath deposition(CBD) are investigated by X-ray difraction(XRD),scanning electron microscope(SEM),ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis),and open aperture Z-scan experiments.The band gap energy of the PbS nanocrystalline film is 1.82 eV,higher than that of bulk PbS at 300 K.The nonlinear absorption properties of the film are investigated using the open aperture Z-scan technique at 1064 nm and pulse durations of 4 ns and 65 ps.Intensity-dependent switching of the film from nonlinear absorption to saturable absorption is observed.The nonlinear absorption coefficient increases monotonically with increasing pulse duration from 65 ps to 4 ns.