Modified Z-scan techniques for investigations of nonlinear chiroptical effects

We present simple modifications of the classic Z-scan technique for the investigations of nonlinear chiroptical effects, i.e. nonlinear circular birefringence and two-photon circular dichroism. Two methods for studying these effects: a "polarimetric Z-scan" and a "polarization modulated Z-scan" are described in detail. These techniques were applied to estimate the order of magnitude of the effects for several different materials.