Optical limiting potential of reduced graphene oxide based films, solutions and silico-phosphate composites

Lasers are currently indispensable for many civilian and military applications and there is a considerable need to develop optical limiting materials for laser damage prevention of optoelectronic devices and for people protection. Specific to an optical limiting material is the linear increase of the transmitted power/fluence of the laser beam when the incident one is increasing, below a threshold, while above the threshold the transmitted power/fluence remains constant, independently of the power/fluence of the incident laser beam. The optical limiting capability of several synthesized reduced graphene oxide (rGO) based materials, as films, organic/inorganic solutions, and silico-phosphate composite materials have been investigated by intensity scan at different wavelengths and temporal regimes of excitation: fs pulses at 1550 and 775 nm, ns pulses at 1064 nm. The experimental transmittance has been determined in all performed experiments. The value of the optical transmittance, in the linear regime, and the saturation intensity of the nonlinear transmittance curves, where applied, have been determined. The laser induced damage in the synthesized materials, under the action of laser beams, was also investigated. Our results evidenced the influence of the “matrix” that embed the rGO. The influence of rGO concentration and of P2O5, in silico-phosphate matrix, on optical limiting potential was discussed.