Ultrafast Refractometry for Characterization of Nanocomposite Material Systems

An ultrafast refractometry technique is introduced for direct characterization of refractive indices, absorption coefficients, and refractive index variances in nanocomposite (NC) assemblies. The system samples bulk NC optical characteristics by probing phase delay, absorption, and spatial coherence effects on an ultrashort laser probe pulse. The integrated system is demonstrated for representative samples of 20-nm SiC nanoparticles in a polymer host and is found to successfully sample the desired optical characteristics.