Large third-order optical nonlinearities of C60-derived nanotubes in infrared

Garito and coworkers have suggested a mechanism to dramatically increase third-order optical nonlinearities of linear π-electron-conjugated molecules. Very recently, Marder and coworkers [Science 276 (1997) 1233] have tested these ideas experimentally and have got large third-order optical nonlinearities in polarized carotenoids. In this Letter, our theoretical calculations predict that large third-order optical nonlinearities in C60-derived nanotubes could be obtained in the infrared, which implies that carbon nanotubes are also important nonlinear optical materials in photonic applications.