Optical nonlinearity enhancement of graded metallic films

The effective linear and third-order nonlinear susceptibility of graded metallic films with weak nonlinearity have been investigated. Due to the simple geometry, we were able to derive exactly the local field inside the graded structures having a Drude dielectric gradation profile. We calculated the effective linear dielectric constant and third-order nonlinear susceptibility. We investigated the surface plasmon resonant effect on the optical absorption, the optical nonlinearity enhancement, and the figure of merit of graded metallic films. It is found that the presence of gradation in metallic films yields a broad resonant plasmon band in the optical region, resulting in a large enhancement of the optical nonlinearity, and hence a large figure of merit. We suggest experiments be done to check our theoretical predictions, because graded metallic films can be fabricated more easily than graded particles. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.