Second harmonic generation in composites of ellipsoidal particles with core–shell structure

Abstract

We study the enhancement of the second-harmonic generation (SHG) coefficient in a random composite consisting of ellipsoidal particles with a core–shell structure in a linear dielectric host. The material making up the ellipsoidal core is assumed to be dielectric, but with a nonlinear susceptibility for SHG. The coating material is assumed to be metallic with a linear susceptibility. The effective SHG coefficient is derived and its expression is related to various local field factors. The numerical calculations of the effective SHG response per unit volume of nonlinear material can be greatly enhanced at certain frequencies. For coated ellipsoidal particles, the core–shell structure and the particle shape allow for tuning of the resonance through the choice of material parameters and/or the ratio of the core to shell volume fraction and the depolarization factor of the particles.