Experimental investigation of the nonlinear optical response in Fe:PVA

The metal ion doped polymers represent a new class of organic materials for the nonlinear optics. Among such materials, the ferric chloride doped polyvinyl alcohol (Fe:PVA) is one of the most suitable materials for holographic recording. An experiment was conducted to study the physics of the mechanism for the light induce change of the refractive index by relating the optical parameters to the Fe2+ contents. Optical, m-line and Moessbauer spectroscopy were used as complementary techniques relating the optical and the local parameters.