In:
National Science Review, Oxford University Press (OUP), Vol. 10, No. 7 ( 2023-05-31)
Abstract:
Non-linear materials are cornerstones of modern optics and electronics. Strong dependence on the intrinsic properties of particular materials, however, inhibits the at-will extension of demanding non-linear effects, especially those second-order ones, to widely adopted centrosymmetric materials (for example, silicon) and technologically important burgeoning spectral domains (for example, terahertz frequencies). Here we introduce a universal route to efficient non-linear responses enabled by exciting non-linear Thomson scattering, a fundamental process in electrodynamics that was known to occur only in relativistic electrons in metamaterial composed of linear materials. Such a mechanism modulates the trajectory of charges, either intrinsically or extrinsically provided in solids, at twice the driving frequency, allowing second-harmonic generation at terahertz frequencies on crystalline silicon with extremely large non-linear susceptibility in our proof-of-concept experiments. By offering a substantially material- and frequency-independent platform, our approach opens new possibilities in the fields of on-demand non-linear optics, terahertz sources, strong field light–solid interactions and integrated photonic circuits.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2095-5138
,
2053-714X
Language:
English
Publisher:
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2745465-4
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