Optical Third-Harmonic Generation in Graphene
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Iron oxides are a ubiquitous class of compounds that are involved in many biological, geological, and technological processes, and the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple is a fundamental transformation pathway; however, the study of iron oxide surfaces in aqueous solution by powerful spectroscopic techniques has been limited due to "strong absorber problem". In this work, atomic layer deposition (ALD) thin films of polycrystalline alpha-Fe2O3 were analyzed using the Eisenthal chi((3)) technique, a variant of second harmonic generation that reports on interfacial potentials. By determining the surface charge densities at multiple pH values, the point of zero charge was found to be 5.5 +/- 0.3. The interaction of aqueous Fe(II) at pH 4 and in 1 mM NaCl with ALD-prepared hematite was found to be fully reversible and to lead to about 4 times more ferrous iron ions adsorbed per square centimeter than on fused-silica surfaces under the same conditions. The data are consistent with a recently proposed conceptual model for net Fe(II) uptake or release that is underlain by a dynamic equilibrium between Fe(II) adsorbed onto hematite, electron transfer into favorable surface sites with attendant Fe(III) deposition, and electron conduction to favorable remote sites that release and replenish aqueous Fe(II).
To align with the global trend of integrating synchrotron light source (SLS) and free electron laser (FEL) facilities on one site, in line with examples such as SPring-8 and SACLA in Japan and ELETTRA and FERMI in Italy, we actively explore FEL options leveraging the ultralow-emittance electron beam of the NSLS-II upgrade. These options show promising potential for synergy with storage ring (SR) operations, thereby significantly enhancing our facility’s capabilities. Echo-enabled harmonic generation (EEHG) is well-suited to SR-based FELs, and has already been demonstrated with the capability of generating extremely narrow bandwidth as well as high brightness, realized using diffraction-limited short pulses in transverse planes and Fourier transform-limited bandwidth in the soft X-ray spectrum. However, regarding a conventional EEHG scheme, the combination of the shortest seed laser wavelength (256 nm) and highest harmonic (200) sets the short wavelength limit to λ = 1.28 nm. To further extend the short wavelength limit down to the tender and hard X-ray region, a vital option is to shorten the seed laser wavelength. Thanks to recent advances in high harmonic generation (HHG), packing 10 9 photons at one harmonic within a few-femtosecond pulse could turn such a novel HHG source into an ideal seeding for EEHG. Thus, compared to the cascaded EEHG, the HHG seeding option could not only lower the cost, but also free the SR space for accommodating more user beamlines. Moreover, to mitigate the SASE background noise on the sample and detector, we combine the HHG seeding EEHG with the crab cavity short pulse scheme for maximum benefit.
The potential of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy for automated crystal centering to guide synchrotron X-ray diffraction of protein crystals has been explored. The potential of second-harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy for automated crystal centering to guide synchrotron X-ray diffraction of protein crystals was explored. These studies included (i) comparison of microcrystal positions in cryoloops as determined by SHG imaging and by X-ray diffraction rastering and (ii) X-ray structure determinations of selected proteins to investigate the potential for laser-induced damage from SHG imaging. In studies using β{sub 2} adrenergic receptor membrane-protein crystals prepared in lipidic mesophase, the crystal locations identified by SHG images obtained in transmission mode were found to correlate well with the crystal locations identified by raster scanning using an X-ray minibeam. SHG imaging was found to provide about 2 µm spatial resolution and shorter image-acquisition times. The general insensitivity of SHG images to optical scatter enabled the reliable identification of microcrystals within opaque cryocooled lipidic mesophases that were not identified by conventional bright-field imaging. The potential impact of extended exposure of protein crystals to five times a typical imaging dose from an ultrafast laser source was also assessed. Measurements of myoglobin and thaumatin crystals resulted in no statistically significant differences between structures obtained from diffraction data acquired from exposed and unexposed regions of single crystals. Practical constraints for integrating SHG imaging into an active beamline for routine automated crystal centering are discussed.
Second harmonic generation (SHG), a laser-based surface technique, was used to characterize near-surface defect evolution associated with mechanical deformation in 2024-T3 aluminum due to tensile loads. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) measurements were also performed to determine the geometrically necessary dislocation density before and after tensile deformation. Comparison of the EBSD and SHG results found that dislocation density and SHG signal are inversely proportional; tensile deformation in the plastic regime led to an increase in dislocation density and a decrease in SHG response. A similar trend was seen in the SHG results on as-received (unpolished) Al samples; SHG response decreases with extent of plastic deformation. Furthermore, this study suggests that SHG has potential as a nondestructive evaluation technique.
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High-temperature, solid-state synthesis in the Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4} system led to the discovery of two new polymorphic compounds that were analyzed using single crystal X-ray diffraction. The α-polymorph crystallizes in Pna2{sub 1} with the lithium cobalt (II) silicate, Li{sub 2}CoSiO{sub 4}, structure type, where Z=4, R1=0.0349 and wR2=0.0514 for all data. The β-polymorph possesses the wurtz-kesterite structure type, crystallizing in Pn with Z=2, R1=0.0423, and wR2=0.0901 for all data. Rietveld refinement of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction was utilized to quantify the phase fractions of the polymorphs in the reaction products. The α/β-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4} mixture exhibits an absorption edge of ∼2.6–3.0 eV, a wide region of optical transparency in the mid- to far-IR, and moderate SHG activity over the fundamental range of 1.1–2.1 μm. Calculations using density functional theory indicate that the ground state energies and electronic structures for α- and β-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4}, as well as the hypothetical polymorph, γ-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4} with the wurtz-stannite structure type, are highly similar. - Graphical abstract: Two polymorphs, α- and β-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4}, have been discovered using single crystal X-ray diffraction. Rietveld refinement of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data indicates the presence of both polymorphs in the samples that were analyzed. - Highlights: • Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4} exists as two polymorphs crystallizing in the Pna2{sub 1} and Pn space groups. • The α- and β-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4} mixture exhibits a moderate SHG response over a broad range. • The α- and β-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4} mixture exhibits an optical absorption edge of ∼2.6–3.0 eV. • Synchrotron powder diffraction data are necessary to distinguish α- and β-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4.} • Electronic structure calculations show similar total energies for α- and β-Li{sub 2}MnSnS{sub 4}.
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Nonlinear optical processes at soft x-ray wavelengths have remained largely unexplored due to the lack of available light sources with the requisite intensity and coherence. Here we report the observation of soft x-ray second harmonic generation near the carbon K edge (~284 eV) in graphite thin films generated by high intensity, coherent soft x-ray pulses at the FERMI free electron laser. Our experimental results and accompanying first-principles theoretical analysis highlight the effect of resonant enhancement above the carbon K edge and show the technique to be interfacially sensitive in a centrosymmetric sample with second harmonic intensity arising primarily from the first atomic layer at the open surface. Here, this technique and the associated theoretical framework demonstrate the ability to selectively probe interfaces, including those that are buried, with elemental specificity, providing a new tool for a range of scientific problems.
We experimentally demonstrate efficient third harmonic generation from an indium tin oxide nanofilm (λ/42 thick) on a glass substrate for a pump wavelength of 1.4 μm. A conversion efficiency of 3.3 × 10{sup −6} is achieved by exploiting the field enhancement properties of the epsilon-near-zero mode with an enhancement factor of 200. This nanoscale frequency conversion method is applicable to other plasmonic materials and reststrahlen materials in proximity of the longitudinal optical phonon frequencies.
A method and apparatus to generate harmonically related laser wavelengths includes a pair of lenses at opposing faces of a non-linear optical material. The lenses are configured to promote incoming and outgoing beams to be normal to each outer lens surface over a range of acceptance angles of the incoming laser beam. This reduces reflection loss for higher efficiency operation. Additionally, the lenses allow a wider range of wavelengths for lasers for more universal application. Examples of the lenses include plano-cylindrical and plano-spherical form factors.
We theoretically analyze the second harmonic generation capacity of two-dimensional periodic metamaterials comprising sub-wavelength resonators strongly coupled to intersubband transitions in quantum wells (QWs) at mid-infrared frequencies. The metamaterial is designed to support a fundamental resonance at ∼30 THz and an orthogonally polarized resonance at the second harmonic frequency (∼60 THz), while the asymmetric quantum well structure is designed to provide a large second order susceptibility. Upon continuous wave illumination at the fundamental frequency we observe second harmonic signals in both the forward and backward directions, with the forward efficiency being larger. We calculate the overall second harmonic conversion efficiency of the forward wave to be ∼1.3 × 10{sup −2} W/W{sup 2}—a remarkably large value, given the deep sub-wavelength dimensions of the QW structure (about 1/15th of the free space wavelength of 10 μm). The results shown in this Letter provide a strategy for designing easily fabricated sources across the entire infrared spectrum through proper choice of QW and resonator designs.
The strength of interactions between photons in a χ (2) nonlinear optical waveguide increases at shorter wavelengths. These larger interactions enable coherent spectral translation and light generation at a lower power, over a broader bandwidth, and in a smaller device: all of which open the door to new technologies spanning fields from classical to quantum optics. Stronger interactions may also grant access to new regimes of quantum optics to be explored at the few-photon level. One promising platform that could enable these advances is thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN), due to its broad optical transparency window and possibility for quasi-phase matching and dispersion engineering. In this Letter, we demonstrate second harmonic generation of blue light on an integrated thin-film lithium niobate waveguide and observe a conversion efficiency of η 0 = 33, 000%/W- cm 2 , significantly exceeding previous demonstrations.
Relativistic harmonic generation is a waveform-dependent process that can be enhanced by multi-color driving pulses. We experimentally demonstrate higher-efficiency harmonics from a plasma mirror cascade, where an initial plasma mirror produces the multi-color beam.
High order harmonic generation from solid targets is a compelling route to generating intense attosecond or even zeptosecond pulses. However, the effects of ion motion on the generation of harmonics have only recently started to be considered. Here, we study the effects of ion motion in harmonics production at ultrahigh laser intensities interacting with solid density plasma. Using particle-in-cell simulations, we find that there is an optimum density for harmonic production that depends on laser intensity, which scales linearly with a{sub 0} with no ion motion but with a reduced scaling if ion motion is included. We derive a scaling for this optimum density with ion motion and also find that the background ion motion induces Doppler red-shifts in the harmonic structures of the reflected pulse. The temporal structure of the Doppler shifts is correlated to the envelope of the incident laser pulse. We demonstrate that by introducing a frequency chirp in the incident pulse we are able to eliminate these Doppler shifts almost completely.
Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides, coupled to metal plasmonic nanocavities, have recently emerged as new platforms for strong light–matter interactions. These systems are expected to have nonlinear-optical properties that will enable them to be used as entangled photon sources, compact wave-mixing devices, and other elements for classical and quantum photonic technologies. Here, we report the first experimental investigation of the nonlinear properties of these strongly coupled systems, by observing second harmonic generation from a WSe 2 monolayer strongly coupled to a single gold nanorod. In this work, the pump-frequency dependence of the second-harmonic signal displays a pronounced splitting that can be explained by a coupled-oscillator model with second-order nonlinearities. Rigorous numerical simulations utilizing a nonperturbative nonlinear hydrodynamic model of conduction electrons support this interpretation and reproduce experimental results. Our study thus lays the groundwork for understanding the nonlinear properties of strongly coupled nanoscale systems.
Nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals with superior properties are significant for advancing laser technologies and applications. Introducing rare earth metals to borates is a promising and effective way to modify the electronic structure of a crystal to improve its optical properties in the visible and ultraviolet range. In this work, we computationally discover inversion symmetry breaking in EuBa 3 (B 3 O 6 ) 3 , which was previously identified as centric, and demonstrate noncentrosymmetry via synthesizing single crystals for the first time by the floating zone method. We determine the correct space group to be P 6¯. The material has a large direct bandgap of 5.56 eV and is transparent down to 250 nm. The complete anisotropic linear and nonlinear optical properties were also investigated with a d 11 of ∼0.52 pm/V for optical second harmonic generation. Further, it is Type I and Type II phase matchable. This work suggests that rare earth metal borates are an excellent crystal family for exploring future deep ultraviolet (DUV) NLO crystals. It also highlights how first principles computations combined with experiments can be used to identify noncentrosymmetric materials that have been wrongly assigned to be centrosymmetric.