Two-photon absorption and up-converted emission in blue-emitting stilbene dye

Abstract

We have carried out investigations into the two-photon absorption properties of a novel blue emitting molecule; 1,4-bis(4-diphenylaminostyryl) benzene. The open aperture z-scan technique was employed to measure the two-photon absorption coefficient of this material in solution over a range of concentrations in chloroform at 800 nm. We measured the two-photon absorption cross-section to be 197 × 10-50 cm4 s photon -1. We have also demonstrated strong up-converted emission in solutions of the same molecule highlighting the potential of this material for applications such as up-conversion and two-photon fluorescence microscopy.