Two-photon excited coherence gratings in inhomogeneously broadened organic solid

For the first time a frequency-domain grating is observed in the visible region as a result of coherence excited by two-photon absorption of time-delayed near-IR femtosecond pulses in an inhomogeneously broadened organic solid-state system. The grating appears in chlorin (2,3-dihydroporphyrin)doped polymer film at low temperature and is detected in two different ways. First, modulation is observed in the pure electronic fluorescence band upon 'resonant' two-photon excitation with laser carrier frequency equal to one-half of the fluorescence band maximum. Second, upon long exposure time at half of the transition frequency, a persistent spectral hole with periodic structure is observed. The two-photon absorption spectrum of the chlorin molecule in the spectral range 1130-1310 nm is also presented for the first time.