Self-enhancement and suppression of optical pulses by use of photochromism in elastomer

When violet or green pulses were launched into an elastomer containing photochromic diarylethene, two competitive absorption bands emerged at around 400 and 520 nm. The violet pulses suppressed the former and enhanced the latter, whereas the green pulses induced the opposite reaction. Consequently, these signals self-formed their optical path in the elastomer (self-enhancement). By contrast, blue pulses exhibited either a self-enhancement or suppression characteristic depending on whether the elastomer had been irradiated by the violet or green signal before the blue signal transmission. Measurement of the transient spectra during the irradiation process revealed that the blue photons were absorbed by both 400 and 520 nm bands inducing two competitive photochromic isomerizations simultaneously.