Spectral characteristics and nonlinear studies of methyl violet 2B dye in liquid and solid media

Solid-state dye-doped polymers are attractive alternatives to the conventional liquid-dye solutions. In this paper, the spectral characteristics and nonlinear properties of the dye Methyl violet 2B has been studied. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of Methyl violet 2B dye in ethanol and a dye-doped polymer film were measured by the Z-scan technique. This material exhibits a negative optical nonlinearity. The dye exhibited a nonlinear refractive coefficient (n(2) = -4.14 x 10(-7) and -4.291 x 10(-7) cm(2)/W in liquid and solid media, respectively), nonlinear absorption coefficient (beta = -4.634 x 10(-3) and -4.66 x 10(-3) cm/W in liquid and solid media, respectively), and susceptibility (chi((3)) = 1.88 x 10(-5) and 1.963 x 10(-5) esu in liquid and solid media, respectively). These results show that Methyl violet 2B dye has potential applications in nonlinear optics.