Nanotube-based systems for broadband optical limiting: towards an operational system

TL;DR

This paper investigates how nanotube diameter and chemical modifications can enhance broadband optical limiting performance, proposing composite systems that combine nanotubes with organic chromophores for improved nanosecond pulse suppression.

Contribution

It introduces new methods to optimize nanotube-based optical limiters by controlling nanotube diameter and creating composite materials with organic chromophores.

Findings

Nanotube diameter significantly affects limiting performance.

Chemically modified nanotubes combined with chromophores enhance efficiency.

Composite systems show high performance in nanosecond regimes.

Abstract

Nanotube-based systems are good candidates for optical limiting against broadband laser pulses. We explore new routes to improve their limiting performances. We show that the diameter of the nanotubes is a key factor to control the performances. On the other hand, we demonstrate that chemically modified nanotubes can be mixed with organic chromophores, leading to high performance composite limiting systems which are particularly efficient in the nanosecond regime due to the cumulative effects of nonlinear scattering and multiphoton absorption.