Synthesis and nonlinear optical susceptibility of cyanine dye J-aggregate doped silica film (I)

We synthesized thin silica films doped with condensed J aggregates of pseudisocyanine dyes (PIC) as a material for nonlinear optical devices by simple sol-gel processing and spincasting. The sol and the silica films were characterized with UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence microscopy. The films contain plenty J aggregates, and are optically transparent and stable at room temperature. J aggregation dependence on dye concentration in the sol and spin speed during spincasting were investigated. It was found that dye condensation in the sol solution and fast spinning promote the formation of J aggregates in the films. Because of the high third order nonlinear susceptibility around 10^-7 esu, the films are expected to be useful for non-linear optical devices.