A significantly enhanced, ultrafast third-order optical nonlinearity at the wavelengths of 1150-1600 nm was demonstrated with cross-linked C
60-containing polyurethane films using the Z-scan technique. Good-quality polymer films with a high loading of C
60 derivative were obtained by cross-linking of the hydroxyl-containing C
60 derivative and a triisocyanate. The positive Kerr coefficient with nonresonant nonlinear refractive index
n2 falls in the range of (3.7 ± 0.80) × 10
-4 to (2.0 ± 0.6) × 10
-3 cm
2/GW, and the calculated
(3) and
![](/images/gifchars/gamma.gif)
values are up to 9.7 × 10
-11 and 9.6 × 10
-32 esu at 1550 nm, which are several orders of enhancement in third-order optical nonlinearity over pristine C
60 in solution and 1-2 orders of enhancement over recently reported C
60 derivatives and conjugated polymers.