Polarization-Resolved Extreme-Ultraviolet Second-Harmonic Generation from LiNbO3

Can Berk Uzundal ,Kensuke Tono,Clarisse Woodahl,Craig P Schwartz,Michael Zuerch,Sasawat Jamnuch,Walter S Drisdell,Angelique Amado,Alfred Zong,Toshihide Sumi,Paul Manset,Yuya Kubota,Shigeki Owada,Makina Yabashi,Tod A Pascal,Edward M Berger ,J W Freeland ,H Akai ,Ichiro Matsuda ,Yasuyuki Hikita

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.127.237402

Abstract

Second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy ubiquitously enables the investigation of surface chemistry, interfacial chemistry, as well as symmetry properties in solids. Polarization-resolved SHG spectroscopy in the visible to infrared regime is regularly used to investigate electronic and magnetic order through their angular anisotropies within the crystal structure. However, the increasing complexity of novel materials and emerging phenomena hampers the interpretation of experiments solely based on the investigation of hybridized valence states. Here, polarization-resolved SHG in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV-SHG) is demonstrated for the first time, enabling element-resolved angular anisotropy investigations. In noncentrosymmetric LiNbO_{3}, elemental contributions by lithium and niobium are clearly distinguished by energy dependent XUV-SHG measurements. This element-resolved and symmetry-sensitive experiment suggests that the displacement of Li ions in LiNbO_{3}, which is known to lead to ferroelectricity, is accompanied by distortions to the Nb ion environment that breaks the inversion symmetry of the NbO_{6} octahedron as well. Our simulations show that the measured second harmonic spectrum is consistent with Li ion displacements from the centrosymmetric position while the Nb─O bonds are elongated and contracted by displacements of the O atoms. In addition, the polarization-resolved measurement of XUV-SHG shows excellent agreement with numerical predictions based on dipole-induced SHG commonly used in the optical wavelengths. Our result constitutes the first verification of the dipole-based SHG model in the XUV regime. The findings of this work pave the way for future angle and time-resolved XUV-SHG studies with elemental specificity in condensed matter systems.

Highlights

Second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy ubiquitously enables the investigation of surface chemistry, interfacial chemistry, as well as symmetry properties in solids
In noncentrosymmetric LiNbO3, elemental contributions by lithium and niobium are clearly distinguished by energy dependent XUV-SHG measurements
This element-resolved and symmetrysensitive experiment suggests that the displacement of Li ions in LiNbO3, which is known to lead to ferroelectricity, is accompanied by distortions to the Nb ion environment that breaks the inversion symmetry of the NbO6 octahedron as well

Summary

Introduction

Second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy ubiquitously enables the investigation of surface chemistry, interfacial chemistry, as well as symmetry properties in solids. In noncentrosymmetric LiNbO3, elemental contributions by lithium and niobium are clearly distinguished by energy dependent XUV-SHG measurements. Second-order nonlinear spectroscopies, such as second harmonic generation (SHG) with optical and infrared wavelengths, are widely used as an interfacial and surface probe of electronic properties of solid state materials [2].

Results

Conclusion