Properties of a few saturable absorbers as candidates for low power optical phase conjugation (OPC) are examined. The specific systems studied are the dyes eosin, erythrosin B and Rose Bengal, doped in gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol and boric acid glass films. A method for quickly checking saturated absorption is suggested and demonstrated. Examples for OPC with these systems are cited and limitations are briefly discussed.

Vibrational overtone spectra of styrene (liquid) and polystyrene (solid), studied by the laser-induced thermal lens (for ΔV=6) and the conventional near infrared absorption (for ΔV=3–5) techniques, are reported. For polystyrene, the overtone energy-bond length correlation predicts that the aryl CH bonds are ∼0.0005 Å longer than that in benzene, while no such conclusions could be drawn on styrene. Thesp³ CH overtones in polystyrene are observed on the low energy side of the aryl CH overtones.