paper

Emergent higher-order optical nonlinearity in self-assembled polar supertextures

arXiv:2610.38138 · doi:10.1021/acsnano.6c10644

Abstract

Giant optical nonlinearities enable advanced materials control and bridge exotic light-matter phenomena to next-generation photonics. However, materials exhibiting strong higher-order optical nonlinearity beyond the second order are typically rare. Here, we report the discovery of a giant and ultrafast second-harmonic generation (SHG) in self-assembled polar skyrmions under mid-infrared excitations. The transient SHG intensity exhibits a distinctive power dependence originating from higher-order nonlinearity. More generally, we show that large higher-order nonlinearity emerges across diverse domain structures in polar superlattices. Phase-field simulations demonstrate a strong and periodic local permittivity variation within each polar texture at equilibrium, and further confirm the fast polarization oscillation in polar skyrmions with mid-infrared excitations. This intense local permittivity modulation can satisfy epsilon-near-zero conditions, unlocking dramatically enhanced nonlinear optical responses without photonic engineering. Consequently, the self-assembled polar topologies with strong inherent optical nonlinearity could establish a platform for quantum information processing and high-speed optical communications.

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