Intrinsic second‐order nonlinearity in chalcogenide glasses containing HgI2. Issue 5 (25th January 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tverjanovich, Andrey; Borisov, Evgenii N.; Kassem, Mohammad; Masselin, Pascal; Fontanari, Daniele; Bychkov, Eugene
• Is Part Of: Journal of the American Ceramic Society. Volume 103:Issue 5(2020)
• Page Start: 3070
• Page End: 3075
• Publication Date: 2020-01-25
• Subjects: chalcogenides -- glass -- optical materials/properties; Ceramics -- Periodicals; 620.1405
• DOI: 10.1111/jace.17026
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-7820

Abstract

Abstract: Frequency conversion using nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals is widely used in advanced photonic technologies to produce coherent light in the spectral regions where the available laser sources are missing. Isotropic glasses usually do not show second order nonlinear processes like second harmonic or difference frequency generation (SHG, DFG) except for temporarily induced anisotropy under external stimuli. Here, we show that a HgI2 –Ga2 S3 –GeS2 homogeneous glass exhibits a strong intrinsic SHG response comparable with that of the well‐known NLO single crystal LiNbO3 . The origin of this extremely rare phenomenon seems to be noncentrosymmetric bent HgI2 molecules embedded in a sulfide glassy host. Taking into account the unique properties of chalcogenide glasses (wide IR transmission, low phonon density, unlimited ability to be modified changing the appropriate glass properties, fiber drawing and thin layer design), the observed phenomenon opens up the possibility of creating fundamentally new devices for mid‐IR photonics.