Induced absorption in fullerene-doped solid xerogel matrices Original Research Article

In this paper measurements of induced absorption and its dynamics in C60-doped solid xerogel matrices are presented. The measurements are performed in a pump-test geometry using picosecond pulses generated from a frequency doubled modelocked Nd:YAG laser. An induced absorption leading to optical limiting was observed. Outstanding optical limiting qualities for single shot excitation were found. Furthermore, limiting dynamics are studied. A decrease of the initial laser-induced absorption with a time constant of 150 picoseconds was observed. This is attributed to a transition from excited singlet to triplet electronic states in the C60 molecule. A long-living component due to the resulting triplet state population was also observed.