Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
The performance of optical limiters depends on the ratio of the absorptive cross section for the transition from an excited state, σe, to that for transition from the ground state, σg. Both these factors depend on wavelength. It is appropriate to define two bandwidths, one for high energy pulse suppression, depending on σe, and the other for linear transmission, depending on σg. These bandwidths are affected differently by the use of molecular mixtures.