Chalcogenide glasses with large non-linear refractive indices

Non-linear refractive indices and non-linear absorptions of several chalcognide glasses have been measured by the z-scan method at 1.06 mu m, to evaluate their potential use in telecommunication as all optical ultra-fast switching devices. The index obtained for the reference glass As2S3 (2.5 x 10(-18) m(2)/W) agrees with that found in the literature. Glasses in Ge-Se and Ge-Se-As systems have been measured. Non-linear refractive indices four times larger (10.2 x 10(-18) m(2)/W) than that of As2S3 have been obtained for a GeSe-As glass. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.