AgInSe2 Nanorods: A semiconducting material for saturable absorber

AgInSe2 nanorods (NRs) with diameter of 15 nm have been investigated for their nonlinear optical responses by using Z-scan and transient absorption techniques with femtosecond laser pulses of photon energy greater than the bandgap. At excitation irradiance of 20 GW/cm2, AgInSe2 NRs reveal saturation in the nonlinear absorption and optical Kerr nonlinearity with a recovery time determined to be a few ten picoseconds. Such large saturable absorption and Kerr nonlinearity exhibit a third-order susceptibility of 1.2 x 10-8 esu and a figure of merit of 0.04 esu.cm.s-1, making AgInSe2 NRs a promising candidate for saturable absorption devices.