Measurement of Two-Photon Absorption Cross Section of Metal Ions by a Mass Sedimentation Approach

The photo-reduction of metal ions in solution induced by femtosecond laser is an important and novel method for fabricating three-dimensional metal microstructures. However, the nonlinear absorption cross section of metal ions remains unknown because its measurement is difficult. In the present study, a method based on Two-Photon Excited Sedimentation (TPES) is proposed to measure the two-photon absorption cross section (TPACS) of metal ions in solution. The power-squared dependence of the amount of sediment on the excitation intensity was confirmed, revealing that 800 nm femtosecond laser induced reduction of metal ions was a two photon absorption process. We believe that the proposed method may be applied to measure the TPACS of several metal ions, thereby opening a new avenue towards future analysis of two-photon absorption materials.