Optical and structural characterization of iron oxide and cobalt oxide thin films at 800 nm

摘要

We report on optical and structural properties of α-Fe_2O_3 and Co_3O_4 thin films, grown by direct oxidation of pure metal films deposited on soda-lime glass. Structural characteristics and morphology of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Linear optical absorption, and linear refraction as well as nonlinear optical properties were investigated. The third-order optical susceptibilities were measured applying the Thermally managed Z-scan technique using a Ti: sapphire laser (150 fs; 800 nm). The results obtained for the Co_3O_4 film were ReX~(3) = -(5.7 ± 2.4) ×10~(-9) esu and ImX~(3) = -(1.8 ± 0.2) x 10~(-8) esu while for the α-Fe_2O_3 film we determined ReX~(3) = +(6.6 ± 2.4) ×10~(-10) esu and ImX~(3) = +(2.2 ± 0.4)× 10~(-10) esu.