Anisotropic nonlinear response of silicon in the near-infrared region

The authors characterize experimentally the anisotropy of two-photon absorption and the Kerr nonlinearity in silicon over a broad spectral region in the near infrared using the z-scan technique. The results show that both of these parameters decrease by about 12% along the [0 1 0] direction compared with the [0 1 ($) over bar1] direction, and this change occurs for wavelengths in the range of 1.2-2.4 mu m. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.