Effect of Bi2O3 on nonlinear optical properties of ZnO•Bi2O3•SiO2 glasses

Zinc bismuth silicate glasses having composition 20ZnO center dot(80-x)Bi2O3 center dot xSiO(2) (0 <= x <= 50) were prepared by melt-quench technique. The third order nonlinear optical parameters viz., nonlinear refractive index (eta(2)), third order nonlinear susceptibility (chi((3))) and nonlinear absorption coefficient (alpha(2)) were measured by using Z-scan technique. The optical transmittance spectra of all the glasses have been recorded in the wavelength range 190-900 nm. The values of optical band gap (E-g) have been determined from the cutoff wavelength of these glasses. It was found that eta(2), chi((3)) decrease and E-g increases with decreasing heavy metal content in the studied glasses. Further to predict the optical limiting behavior of the samples, the limiting threshold and dynamic range have been reported. Optical limiting behavior shows that studied glasses act as potential candidate for optical limiting at 532 nm. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.