Tunable Optical Limiting Action due to Non-linear Absorption in ZnO∕Ag Nanocomposites

Abstract

ZnO/Ag nanocomposites with different silver concentration are successfully synthesized by solvothermal method. The characterization of the as‐ synthesized samples is done using XRD, UV‐visible spectroscopy and HRTEM and the results indicate that the composites consist of silver nanoparticles attached to the ZnO nanoparticles. The optical non‐linearity in these samples is studied using open aperture Z‐scan technique and the experimental results agree well with a theoretical model involving two‐ photon absorption. It is found that the parameters of optical limiting can be tuned in a broad band by varying the silver concentration in the samples.