Chiral Hybrid Copper(I) Halides for High Efficiency Second Harmonic Generation with a Broadband Transparency Window

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optics
• Solid-State Chemistry

Background:

• Chiral hybrid organic-inorganic metal halides (HOMHs) are promising for second-order nonlinear optics (NLO) due to their intrinsic noncentrosymmetry.
• Existing chiral HOMHs often have small band gaps, limiting their transparency and laser-induced damage thresholds (LDT).

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel chiral HOMHs with enhanced NLO properties and improved optical characteristics.
• To explore the potential of Cu(I)-based chiral HOMHs for advanced photonic applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of two new chiral HOMHs: (R-/S-MBA)CuBr2.
• Characterization of their nonlinear optical (NLO) responses, optical transparency, and laser-induced damage thresholds (LDT).
• Measurement of the effective second-order NLO coefficient.

Main Results:

• The synthesized (R-/S-MBA)CuBr2 compounds exhibit a highly efficient second-harmonic generation (SHG) response.
• These materials demonstrate outstanding optical transparency and high LDT.
• The effective second-order NLO coefficient of (R-MBA)CuBr2 was measured to be approximately 24.7 pm/V, significantly higher than Cu(II) analogs.

Conclusions:

• Cu(I)-based chiral HOMHs present a promising platform for developing advanced nonlinear photonic devices.
• The synthesized materials offer a superior balance of NLO efficiency, transparency, and robustness compared to previous chiral HOMHs.
• These findings open avenues for applications in nonlinear photonics across a wide range of wavelengths.