| This thesis discusses a model for Reverse Saturable Absorption (RSA) to understand mechanisms producing optical power limiting and to determine the nonlinear behavior and response. It also presents synthesis procedures and properties of metallophthalocyanines. A series of experiments on the RSA, to evaluate the suitability of octa-alkoxy metallophthalocyanines as optical power limiters, is discussed. Included in this thesis is a discussion of numerical methods to obtain the theoretical results and to analyze experimental data. Problems encountered in the experiment, as well as experiment modifications, and preliminary results, such as magnitudes of the parameters of the five-state model, are presented. The steady-state approximation is considered, including analytical results. Preliminary results of the nonlinear absorption measured using the Z-scan technique are presented. |
