Determination of multiphoton absorption of silk fibroin using the Z-scan technique

The multiphoton absorption of silk fibroin at 810 nm was determined by open-aperture Z-scan. Three-photon absorption was confirmed at this wavelength and the three-photon cross section of silk fibroin was measured. Silk fibroin of varying molecular weight was tested and the cross section was found to increase exponentially with increasing molecular weight. The confirmation of a relatively large three-photon absorption cross section in silk will help lay the groundwork for future investigation of direct laser writing of three-dimensional structures within a silk matrix.