Third-order optical non-linearity in Zn(II) complexes of 5,10,15,20-tetraarylethynyl-substituted porphyrins

Third-order optical nonlinearity χ(3) of complexes in 5,10,15,20-tetraarylethynyl-substituted porphyrins has been measured using the Z-scan technique. The real and imaginary parts of χ(3) were measured at three different wavelengths and found to be in the region 1.05 × 10−12 esu and 5.2 × 10−12 esu, respectively. Experimental characterisation shows a saturation absorption at wavelengths close to resonance and reverse saturation absorption at off-resonance wavelengths.