Strong nuclear contribution to the optical Kerr effect in niobium oxide containing glasses

Arnaud Royon (1) , Lionel Canioni (1) , Bruno Bousquet (1) , Vincent Rodriguez (2, 3) , Michel Couzi (2, 3) , Clara Rivero (4, 5) , Thierry Cardinal (4) , Evelyne Fargin (4) , Martin Richardson (5) , Kathleen Richardson (6)

1 CPMOH - Centre de physique moléculaire optique et hertzienne
2 LPCM - Laboratoire de Physico-Chimie Moléculaire
3 ISM - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires
4 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
5 CREOL - The College of Optics and Photonics [Orlando]
6 School of Material Science and Engineering

The electronic and nuclear contributions to nonlinear optical properties of niobium oxide-based glasses have been measured using third-harmonic generation and pump-probe techniques. The results have been found to be in agreement with Hellwarth's model for niobium oxide (Nb2O5) concentrations below 30 mol %. Above 30 mol % Nb2O5, discrepancies with the theoretical model have been observed. It has been found that high niobium ion content induces a change of the local structure within the glass and favors the formation of three-dimensional blocks of corner-sharing NbO6 octahedra. Since similarities with crystalline structures are present, we propose that some specific collective vibrational modes could be at the origin of the extra nuclear contributions to the optical Kerr effect.

Mots clés: Kerr effect; Glasses; Niobium oxides; Optics

Domaines: Matériaux

Arnaud Royon, Lionel Canioni, Bruno Bousquet, Vincent Rodriguez, Michel Couzi, et al.. Strong nuclear contribution to the optical Kerr effect in niobium oxide containing glasses. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2007, 75 (10), 104207 (6 p.). ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.75.104207⟩. ⟨hal-00267053⟩