All-Optical Reflectance Control Based on Photoinduced Complex Refractive Index Changes in Guided Mode Thin Films Containing Indium or Gallium Phthalocyanines

Tetrasubstituted indium or gallium phthalocyanines and their dimers bridged with various ligands were dispersed in a polymer thin film, which was spin-coated on silver thin film vacuum-evaporated on a glass slide. All-optical reflectance control was achieved by complex refractive index changes upon photoexcitation of phthalocyanines by nanosecond laser in such a guided mode geometry. They gave rise in less than ns pulse width, and a few to a few tens of microseconds decay characteristic to the lifetime of the excited triplet state. Repeated and reversible reflectance changes were achieved. Axially bridged phthalocyanine dimers showed almost the same photoresponses as monomers.