Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 21, 2025

Using Microwave and Macroscopic Samples of Dielectric Solids to Study the Photonic Properties of Disordered Photonic Bandgap Materials
Published on: September 26, 2014
Effect of interband polarization on a solid's high-order-harmonic generation just belowthe band gap
Abstract:
A series of theoretical and experimental results has proved that harmonics below/above the band gap are produced mainly by the intraband current/interband polarization for solids in strong mid-infrared laser pulses. However, which mechanism dominates the harmonic process is still debated. In this work, based on simulating high-order-harmonic generation from an MgO crystal in a linearly polarized mid-infrared laser by solving semiconductor Bloch equations, we demonstrate that harmonics just below the band gap originate from the interference between intraband and interband currents. Furthermore, it is found that intensities of harmonics just below the band gap are apparently enhanced with an increase in the incident laser's strength. By analyzing the band dispersion and the transition dipole moment of the 001-cut MgO crystal, this can be attributed to the interband polarization between two conduction bands.
Related Concept Videos
Energy Bands in Solids
Band Formation:
When atoms are brought close together, as in a solid, these discrete energy levels begin to split due to the overlap of electron orbitals from adjacent atoms. This split occurs because of the Pauli exclusion principle, which states...
Band Theory
The energy difference between these bands is known as the band gap.
Conductor, Semiconductor,...
Semiconductors
Metals such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), or lead (Pb) have low resistivity and feature conduction bands that are either not fully occupied or overlap with the valence band, making a bandgap non-existent. This allows electrons in the highest energy levels of the valence band to easily transition to the conduction band upon gaining...
Carrier Generation and Recombination
This process is given by the generation rate G and is efficient due to the conservation of momentum between the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum.
Indirect generation involves an...
¹H NMR: Interpreting Distorted and Overlapping Signals
As Δν decreases and the signals move closer, the doublets appear increasingly distorted. The intensities of the inner lines increase at the cost of those of the outer lines as the signals are...
Fermi Level Dynamics
Electron affinity in semiconductors refers to the energy gap between the minimum of its conduction band and the vacuum level and it is a critical parameter in determining how easily a semiconductor can accept additional electrons.
The work...

